Wrath of a good heart
by phantonlikegirl
Summary: She is everything and nothing. she finds help in Yusuke's team, but yet, she has a great secret to keep


**WRATH OF A GOOD HEART**

IONE STORY AND A FIGHTER

IIMAKE FRIENDS WHILE YOUR BROTHER FIGHTS

IIITHE FIGHT AND THE AWAKENING

IVTHE CONTINUANCE AND THE ALLIES

VTHE THIRD OF THE SHICHININTAI

VITELL ME WHAT THE RAIN KNOWS

VIITHE PLAN AND THE ADVICE

VIIITHE WARRIORS OF FIRE AND THE AID

IXTHE BATTLE OF THE HANYOU AS WHAT SHE REALLY WAS

XTHE TRUE FORM OF A WEAKER'S WRATH

XINIMROD AND TOUCAN, THE NEXT OF THE SHICHININTAI BROTHERS

XIIWHEN I SEE THEIR EYES, NOW I'M LIVING…

XIIIA FEELING WHICH DIVIDES

XIVMEMORIES, THEY KEEP COMING THROUGH…

XVTHE GREATEST DECISION IS THE BEST

_EPILOGUE_

CHAPTER I:

**One Story And A Fighter**

'_Surrender, I would feel your body close to mine, look into my eyes… dance now, feel the rhythm of my heart, love feels all around…'_

'You see everything, you see every part… you see all my light and you love my dark… you dig everything of which I'm ashamed… there's not anything to that you can't relate… and you're still here…'

'My passive-aggressiveness can be devastating…'

'I don't care! You're my brother! And I love you!'

'Rie…'

Ensatsu looked at her and while he tried to hide his brotherly love, he smiled rascally, as he would usually do when a conversation of such gravity as this would emerge from both their mouths.

'Alright, then, Rie… what do you see in our next move now? We've reached the 10th level in this tournament. And this is all because of me, you know…'

He smiled proudly this time. She sighed sadly, trying to remember something. After a few minutes, she burst:

'It'll be a man of no greater power than the one of water! I see his face already… he's ugly!'

'As you are!' her brother burst laughing. 'Why must you hide your face like that?'

He took a seat on a wooden chair. She looked down, as if she felt guilty:

'You know why I hide my face, brother…'

'Oh, yes… I do, indeed…' he sighed this time regrettably.

In that moment, they both remembered why at this time of year, they were included in a barbarian tournament of both humans' and monsters' skills.

"_Ensatsu was just an 11-year-old boy when Rie was born. Their father was a human. Their mother was a demon… _

_Ensatsu was born a demon. He had the skills to become a warrior of air. When he was young, everyone feared him, which was a rightful thing. A demon should be feared. Or so that is what their ancestors said in the distant past and ever since. Their ancestors guarded something… something of great importance… it was a golden sword, which was of great magnitude, heavy metal and the power to make you king… but above all… the power to open the Gates of Heaven and emerge Hell on Earth…_

_For that is why Rie knew from her very first moment of contact with the other world rather than her mother's abdomen that she or her brother would be the future Guardians of this precious sword, so tempting for the world of Men. _

_But unfortunately, unlike her brother, a full youkai, she was a hanyou. A hanyou meant that she would never be able to protect the sword because she hadn't a special ability. Only that of foreseeing the next spiritual steps a foreigner would do. She was what they used to call 'defense-card'. _

_Being younger than her brother, who was too proud and too stubborn to be the man their father wanted him to be, she often felt weak and stupid. But somehow, she always felt that there lied still something quiet in beneath her, hidden and waiting to come out in the right moment…_

_And once it just so happened that she joined her father's hunting. And there she saw something which made that which was hidden inside tremble with her entire body… she felt like its awakening was to come sooner than she expected. _

_Her father summoned something uncommon… something weird and frightening… something of a greater power than perhaps the greatest demon would summon in its glorious moment. It was a spell, a witchcraft… a hex… she had never seen it before… and when she had asked her father about it, the man didn't remember anything… nor what he had bided, nor what spell he had spoken… not even what effects it had upon his opponent… it was in that moment, when Rie awoke inside her hanyou flesh and started to live with the pleasurable feeling that one day, in the distant or near future, she will have beckoned something which will have shaken the world from its roots into a greater power than that of thousands of demons'…_

_Sadly, soon after her discovery, one night their place was attacked by thieves and even with her brother's powers, The Sword Which Would Open The Gates Of Heaven And Hell was ripped off the last grip of her father's hands and with all their tears, the two brothers promised to their dying family to return the sword back into their grasp. _

_That is the moment when Rie had tried to summon the spell which she fantasized. Nothing had work. She tried everything… and yet nothing had work… and so, years passed, she grew as a woman of 15, with a great beauty, wisdom and a vast amount of black clothes covering both her body and face. People, who saw her, were intrigued by the fact that she only had her eyes revealed to the world. And nothing else… but even so, with her entire presence covered, she knew how to help her brother because with her, he was always one step ahead of his opponent… it was like this: her brother had the moves and aggressiveness, she had the brains and dexterity. _

_And soon, they had tracked down The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell and soon enough, they found out that it had become a first prize on a tournament of brutal battles between both humans and demons. And so, they joined the tournament… and they both reached the 10__th__ level… for now…"_

'I am determined to go to the end for it, you know, Rie…' said her brother calmly. 'Even if that means leaving you behind…'

She let her look down and followed him back to their room in the special hotel for the participants at this tournament.

On the stairs, they parted. Ensatsu went for a small club under the hotel. She wasn't allowed there yet because she was too young. But she wasn't even tempted to do that. She was ascending the stairs up to her room, when a youkai stopped her, blocking the way to pass.

His eyes were white and he much looked like a human. Good-looking and attractive, with black long hair and a sense of clay around him. It was as if his skin was partially made out of dirt. But, yet, his eyes were beautiful. He smiled down, rascally:

'Hey, there, girlie! You goin' to ya'r room? How' bout I join ya?'

He turned his white look towards her. She didn't move; she just answered:

'You're drunk… get some rest… my brother will fight you soon…'

She knew that if her brother would defeat the water-demon from the fight tomorrow, they'd end up fighting this guy. This guy seemed to be the most powerful of those they fought before. The scars on his face defined the strength of a man too powerful to be defeated in one single combat. He was dangerous. But somehow, Rie felt that she and her brother would win against this bastard too.

She tried to pass him. He made a step forward, a bit annoyed by her answer:

'Listen there, wench… I do not let maggots like your kind talk to me like that… what makes you so special?'

'Probably the fact that I know your moves with 60 seconds ahead of you…'

She grinned. She watched him from her mask that covered her entire face except her bright rabidly-red eyes.

'I'd probably be hard to get kicked' she smiled continuously.

The youkai growled angrily and approached her face:

'I don't like your face, bitch… I simply don't like it… and when I don't like something, I tend to destroy it. You're no exception.'

'Maybe. But I'm not afraid of anything. You're no exception either.'

She liked sharp conversations. She learned to like them from her brother. Although they didn't seem to characterize her. Suddenly, her ears caught the smooth steps of somebody from up the stairs, which were heard only after 5 minutes of silence between her and the youkai.

Another participant was descending the stairs with his team. There were four boys, all weird looking, but judging by how they went on through the battles of this tournament (they were as well on the 10th level as she and her brother were), she knew they weren't to be misjudged. Especially the leader. He was a boy probably the same age as her and even though he looked like a normal human, he had the fastest fists and the most powerful spirit power from all of them. The other ones, a red-haired guy who worked with plants, a black-haired guy who, sincerely Rie never saw fighting, and finally, a tall and stronger guy, who unfortunately had the face of an idiot. But above all that, they seemed strong and confident in their powers.

The youkai saw them. He seemed to startle, although at first Rie thought that that reaction must have been only a vision of hers. Suddenly, her mind attached to a past battle between this youkai and the black-haired guy. She remembered their names. The black-haired boy was called Hiei and the youkai's name was Kai.

As she looked closer to the other boys, she remembered all of their names. The leader's name was Yusuke. The red-haired guy's name was Kurama and the tall one's Kuwabara.

Kai looked at her, grinning:

'I'll see you in combat, little bitch… and your brother… but most of all, you… I never saw you fighting… just hiding behind those wretched clothes… like a coward… we'll see there who's stronger…'

He spitted a bit of dirt at her feet. She trembled as she knew with a few seconds before that that spit was just a part of a massive destructive weapon. As she looked at Kai walking away, she felt that their next battles would be the worst.

'Are you alright?'

She turned confused. She looked at Kurama, who asked that. He seemed sincere and concerned about her. She tried to smile:

'Yes, I am, thank you…'

'You should stay away from that junk' burst Kuwabara. 'He doesn't respect rules around here. He seems to picture this tournament as one made at his home…'

She made a bow politely and answered:

'I know that… I shall keep your advice in mind.'

'We're fighting him soon!' continued Kuwabara happily. 'Well, actually, Yusuke here is…'

He made room for Yusuke, who made a step forward with a proud smile:

'I'll kick that guy's ass in a second! Thinks he's too smart? I'll see him on the field… ha!'

Hiei looked at her with a frowned look. He asked:

'Who is your brother going to fight tomorrow?'

'One of the Shichinintai… I don't know which one though. I only know he's got the element of water…'

She smiled childishly.

'That's Roukyo…' mumbled Kurama a bit worried. He looked at her seriously:

'I hope you won't underestiKuwabara the Shichinintai… they are not to be overlooked. The one who was just with you is the second of the seven brothers… as they grow older, they become stronger…'

'_The Seven Warriors_…' whispered Kuwabara. 'Yeah… they sure shouldn't be unconsidered… does your brother know who they are?'

She kept quiet. She felt certain steps approaching them in the next few seconds. That is why she turned towards the down side of the stairs. She burst out of a sudden:

'Come out, brother… I know you've listened…'

The boys startled and Kuwabara with Yusuke looked at the young man smiling to them victoriously, with a sort of childishly confused face. He came to them with that same smile and patted his sister's head, while saying playfully:

'She so likes to make me laugh of her… Ha, ha, ha! When did you discover I was sitting under the stairs?'

'I only discovered it a few seconds ago when I felt you trying to move to the right… you can't fool me, dear brother… I feel you…'

She grinned.

'You really can do that?' burst Kuwabara amazed. 'That's great, considering the fact that you're…'

He stopped suddenly, as if he had just realized he was about to make a mistake. She turned a bit sad, Yusuke looked at his friend confused, Kurama sighed and Hiei didn't do anything.

'… a hanyou?' continued Ensatsu. 'Well, she practically doesn't know anything else rather that was she's already good at.'

'You're not helping, Ensatsu…' she muttered.

'I'm not supposed to…' he grinned. 'C'mon, let's go get some rest. We'll be tired in the morning… good night, you guys. Good luck tomorrow!'

He and Rie left, ascending the stairs. Yusuke's team watched them quietly.

'Why do I have the feeling that Ensatsu is only _using_ his sister to win?' said Kuwabara.

'You're not the only one who has this impression' burst Yusuke.

'Maybe there's more to what they actually follow…' continued Kurama. 'After all, the rules of the game don't allow two-member team and here they are: two brothers in a single team!'

Of all those four boys, Hiei watched her frowningly and quietly, thinking of another think… which seemed important to them. He was thinking of The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell, but not as its original name… just as a prize…

CHAPTER II:

**Make Friends While Your Brother Fights **

The arena was full of people: monsters and humans both here to joint the tournament as spectators and to enjoy good quality battles. They were, as usual, thirsty for blood and violence.

It was a disgusting thing what they bared with them. It was a satisfaction of betting on whoever was stronger, just for a bit of fun and violence. It didn't matter whether the warrior was a demon or a human, a bad guy or a good guy. All that mattered for the people in the arena was strength and the amount of blood and bruises and broken bones that was left on the ring, after a serious battle.

Rie hated them. But she also feared those people. It was the exact phrase _like a herd of sheep_ which frightened her the most. Because when people were sheep, they became dangerous.

She always helped her brother without anybody knowing that. She used the telekinetically powers, so she was communicating with Ensatsu through thoughts. As that went along, people started to like her brother as a warrior. They thought he was quick, violent, cold and sharp-minded.

As usual, she stood secretly at one of the balconies the warriors used to occupy so they could also watch the combat.

On the ring, there was her brother, Ensatsu, and the water-demon, the first of the Shichinintai, Roukyo.

Her brother seemed to trust himself, as usual. He waited for the battle to begin and get it over with. There was silence around.

'_Brother, do you hear my voice? He'll be making an attempt to attack you… a hurricane… make a right and strike him hard…'_

'_I heard you, sister!'_

'And… BEGIN!!!'

The bell was heard. The battle had begun. The water-demon didn't rest. He backed up a few minutes and took a deep breath. Afterwards, he blew hard and to the people's astonishment, the hurricane made by the demon's mouth missed Ensatsu with a few seconds. The boy turned right, jumping up in the air, and before Roukyo could look for him, Ensatsu stroke his back with a strong kick.

The crowd started to scream, to jeer, to yell and get out all sorts of nasty words addressed mostly to Roukyo, as the battle began to take its own significance for granted.

Rie drew her brother carefully, and thus several times, Ensatsu managed to guide himself to a nearby victory.

What she didn't know was that her own body was betraying her. As the warriors watched the battle from their seats, one of them didn't seem to be too interested in the combat. Because he was looking at her… at Rie.

Her sudden but short and almost invisible startles betrayed her in Kai's eyes, as he began to understand that she and her brother were actually helping each other to win and go ahead on this tournament. There was that sudden invisible startle, those sparkling eyes… yes, indeed, she was helping her brother. And after Kai watched her brother also, fighting skillfully and sure of himself, the youkai understood and even with her frail innocence, she was still a great opponent.

He stood silent, still watching her while studying her gestures. They were as if she was constantly stressed and every muscle was tensioned. And suddenly, there came a moment which Kai caught and understood everything…

Roukyo tried his trick with the hurricane spell again and as a defense Ensatsu was missed by the hurricane, jumping on his right. At the same time, Rie's head turned slightly to the right, while her mouth spelled something silent.

It was in that moment when Kai realized what she always did as a help for her precious brother: she was telling him through his mind how to fight. Indeed, she seemed more powerful than Ensatsu himself…

Kai got out of the chamber as his smile turned to one that appeared to be forced.

'How could she be stronger when she's only a hanyou? A hanyou is the lowest… I must keep this in mind, for the battle tomorrow. At this rank, she and her brother will surely fight me. And that means Roukyo will… will die, so as the others did… because there is one thing that belongs entirely to her brother and only to him: the pleasure in murdering…'

Her brother was again proud of himself that day. He almost danced the whole way back to their room.

'I kicked his ass so easily! And all he could do was just swearing me and spitting all the time, swearing even on his own powers that he will at least touch me! Ha, ha, ha! He didn't even do that!'

He was laughing along, on the stairs.

'Be quiet, brother, somebody could hear you…'

'So what? Let the whole world hear me! I am the best fighter ever born! Ha, ha, ha!' he laughed continuously. 'The likes of you will never reach me, dear sister. Never!'

He continued proudly, on the hall, as she stopped and looked at him with a sad look. It was not as difficult at it seemed, the thing to be a hanyou. It was a frustration. People tended to ignore and constantly miss judge her by the fact that she was a hanyou. To be a demon was good. To be a human was also good. But to be in between wasn't…

She looked up, as she remembered the times she had spent with her father, a human of a great importance and influence in her town of birth. He used to cheer her up at these times and tell her it does not matter what she was, but who she was.

'Great job, your brother did!' burst Kuwabara, waking her up from her thoughts.

She smiled kindly:

'Thank you, Kuwabara.'

He looked at her surprised, afterwards smiled:

'No wonder you remember my name. It means I fight well' he blinked.

She laughed:

'Of course you fight well!'

'Mind if I ask you your name?'

'Oh, sorry, it's Rie. And my brother's Ensatsu.'

They shook hands smiling, as Kuwabara looked at her red eyes, hidden under the iron mask. He now had realized the strange drawings on her mask and thought that they were astonishing.

'Hey, the markings on your mask are cool! Do they mean anything?'

She smiled.

'Yes, as a matter of fact, they do… it's something my mother made for me when I'd turn 11. Turning 11 in our village is a strong moment in a person's life. It defines the beginning of warrior life for that person. These markings are actually warnings to those who underestimate the one that carries them.'

'What do the markings say?'

'_Vengeance is often seen as a small amount of evil… but in fact it is merely its beginning…'_

'Wow…' said Kuwabara amazed. 'That's… that's great! Do your parents know you're in this together?'

'No… they died a few years back.'

Kuwabara looked at her sadly:

'I'm sorry. I didn't know that. Well, I'm sure they'd be very proud, considering the fact that you guys have reached such a high level. I only hope that when we will fight, it'll be for the best of one of us.'

Kuwabara smiled enthusiastically:

'We _are_ going to win! We're the best! But you're pretty good too.'

She smiled:

'Thank you, Kuwabara. By the way, the battle with you against that witch with the number-powers… it was great. You and your team are really ahead of those guys.'

'Yeah, tell me about it! Hey, guess what? They included another rule. If you win this match with Kai tomorrow, you'll be able to fight two other teams, allied with a team which you are allowed to choose. Two-on-two combat! Cool!'

'Oh, I didn't know that! Thanks for telling me, Kuwabara. Do you already have someone in mind, to choose?'

'Well, as a matter of fact, I was thinking of you guys. But I won't be the one choosing. It's Yusuke. He's the leader. '

'I see… well, thanks again, Kuwabara. I'll see you tomorrow, then; good luck!'

'Yeah, good luck to you too. Oh, and, Rie…!'

She stopped, turning to him confused.

'What your brother said about you and your kind… wasn't exactly nice… I hope you will ignore his offense. Cause you are not that kind, to be inferior to anyone.'

Rie looked at him with trembling eyes. She was surprised to hear somebody finally saying that to her. Her lips draw a vague, but sincere smile:

'Thank you, Kuwabara. I dare say this is the first time somebody ever said that to me.'

'It should be told more often, then.'

They stood in silence for a while, before she could finally hear the future five-minutes-ahead steps of Yusuke coming from down the stairs.

She turned to leave just when Yusuke reached the hall.

'I have to go now, Kuwabara. Thank you for everything… I'll be a pity to win in front of you. I dare say, again this time… that _we_ shall not loose to anyone…'

She bowed in front of Kuwabara, obedient, afterwards turned again, to leave. While going on her way, she said softly:

'Good night'

Yusuke came to his friend, looking at her:

'What was that all about?'

'Nothing much. Just that I think that she's not to be misunderstood.'

Yusuke looked at Kuwabara confused:

'What do you mean?'

'Well, I think she's much stronger than she looks. I think she's just pretending to be the sweet, innocent younger sister of a barbarian like Ensatsu. In fact, I think she's the one to be feared most.'

Yusuke looked at her, while she was just opening the door of her room.

'I guess she is, then' he finally burst. 'No doubt about it, otherwise, why would her brother bring her here with him? After all, she is a hanyou.'

'Yes, I know, Yusuke. But it's just that… well, you know those clothes she's wearing… and the cover of her face. The way she's acting so calm and yet so… thoughtful. And she even knows what you're about to do with minutes ahead of you. You know what she told me those markings on her mask mean? _Vengeance is often seen as a small amount of evil… but in fact it is merely its beginning. _That's what she said they mean. It's a warning, Yusuke!'

Yusuke looked at his friend frowningly:

'I think you're overreacting. Of course she's strong, in her own way, that's all. And she's…'

'You don't understand, Yusuke!' Kuwabara cut in through toughly. 'I dreamt of her. I dreamt of her and her brother before we got on the same level. The dream wasn't clear at all, but it told me of something extremely powerful, which lied inside this hanyou. She's not like any other hanyou we know. She is more to that. In fact, I dare say the demon part in her is weaker than the human part in her!'

He sighed, looking down.

'I don't know why she's here… but I do know she's up to no good. She _and_ her precious brother. If they defeat the Shichinintai, then, we are in danger, Yusuke.'

Yusuke looked at him frowningly, trying to understand what exactly Kuwabara meant by what he had just said. In the end, he sighed and said seriously:

'Well, then, they should be aware, Kuwabara. We are also strong. And we will win that damn sword! And you know better why…'

They looked one at each other. Suddenly, Kuwabara smiled bitterly:

'I hope he's ok… I hope he'll be still keeping up before we get there on time…'

CHAPTER III:

**The Fight And The Awakening**

Ensatsu was on his way to the field. It was time for his next battle with one of the Shichinintai. He was walking through the halls, when his eyes met with his adversary. Kai of the Shichinintai was standing in front of him, leaning against the wall of the entrance with a grin on his face:

'So, you have chosen death…'

'The only one dying here will be you, Kai! Just like your brother. Why don't you run along and play with your clay puppets, instead of giving us headaches?'

Ensatsu laughed hard and proudly. Kai growled, but finally said:

'You'll pay for what you said, boy… you will! And the next in line will be your precious sister, boy… I know what tricks you two play!'

He smiled meanly. Ensatsu looked at him seriously:

'What do you know, old man? Nothing!'

'I know you want that sword desperately and for that, you cheat!'

Suddenly, Ensatsu's eyes trembled, as he watched the demon in front of him, grinning victoriously.

'What does it do, boy? Gives you powers… so what? Is it because it's made of gold? I doubt you even make the difference between iron and gold… perhaps is it because there lies something stronger inside…? Something more than it could give you powers… tell me what it is, boy…'

Ensatsu smiled proudly:

'Why should I, old man? Is that your last request? We have a battle to attend to. And I'm not going to miss it, nor lose it. Your minutes are counted. Ha, ha, ha!!!'

'Watch your tongue, boy! My vengeance will be twice vindictive. One reason is the death of one of my brothers… the second reason is the mere fact that I will not give my sword up for an idiot like you!'

Ensatsu's eyes frowned, as he looked at his opponent. He smiled easily:

'Don't worry, old man… I won't bite…'

He turned and continued his road to the field, towards the ring, as the crowd started to cheer and call his name, screaming again for violence and a good battle. His opponent, Kai, followed him.

As he would notice it, he also searched the boy's sister, at the gallery where most warriors lied to watch the match. She was there… looking straight into her brother's eyes, as if she'd spoken to him.

At last, he knew that his moves must be quick and too powerful to be followed by her eyes. He realized that indirectly, he was actually fighting Rie…

'And… BEGIN!!!'

He didn't attack at first. He let Ensatsu do that. The boy didn't wait too long. With his powers, he formed an energyball and saying a few spells, he prepared to throw it on Kai. The demon jumped aside, aware that whatever move he'd make, there was always that someone who'd knew what it was.

After a few attempts of attack which Ensatsu made on him, Kai backed up, thinking hard of what to do, so he could end up winning this battle.

'What's the matter, old man?' grinned Ensatsu. 'Am I too fast for you? Ha, ha, ha!'

Kai growled, and tried an attack spell. Using dirt and dry earth, he formed a sort of mighty sword and created also a wire of dry earth. He tried to hit Ensatsu with it, but as he expected, the boy defended himself, jumping on his right. With a fast, almost invisible move, he sliced the air with the dirt-sword. It had worked. A small, but visible wound scarred the boy's face to his astonishment. He had never been wounded before. Kai smiled shortly, as he looked at the boy watching his sister with a kind of unpleasant surprise.

_I know now! I know now why you are looking at your sister like that, boy! You're asking yourself how I just cut you if she's able to see any moves before I could even do so. That's because I'll be faster than you with every move you shall make against mine. _

He rolled his sword in his hands, as he tried another attack. He drew the whip in the air, as he aimed for the boy's flesh again. Once more, Ensatsu backed up careful, but almost instantly, Kai forced himself to be faster and hit the young demon with his dirt-sword and managed to harm the boy's neck with a slight cut. This time, the wound seemed much more serious.

As they parted, Ensatsu looked at his opponent with a frightened look, as if in that moment, he finally understood the fact that he wasn't dealing at all with an "old man" anymore. As his feet touched again a more protective spot of the ring, he watched his sister with a frightening look, as he couldn't understand why this battle seemed to be much more different than the other ones before. He saw her face as mixed up as his. She was also surprised and alarmed.

She started to feel stupid, looking at her brother from a comfortable chair, in a protective area. For the first time in her life, she realized that she actually couldn't help him.

She had always helped her brother, when it came to battles and facing trouble. But in a real sense of the word, helping him had always been her weak point. She actually _never_ helped him. For the first time in her life, she had realized that. And in that moment, she got up from her seat:

'Ensatsu!!'

Next to her, Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara all startled, as Yusuke looked at her. Everyone seemed to get agitated for some reason. The crowd started to yell Kai's name, as if they understood that the end of the battle would be in the favor of the dirt demon.

'Kai, Kai, Kai!'

They jeered at Ensatsu. They screamed for Kai's name. all of them were at their best times, almost satisfied for they knew what was about to happen: the fate of the combat would turn in favor of the Shichinintai warrior, for the first time in front of the opponent Ensatsu, the one who was never defeated before.

And as the crowd started to fill the whole place with their screams and yells and acclamations, with their thirst for blood and violence, Ensatsu became frightened and looked around confused. He suddenly realized that he was alone and weak against a match like one of the Shichinintai warriors.

His eyes stopped on his sister's…

_Brother, watch out! He'll make a sudden attack! Watch out!'_

She startled visibly on her seat. Yusuke looked at her secretly. Her eyes were trembling, as she watched her brother with fear for his life.

As she had predicted, Kai made a sudden attack on Ensatsu, drawing signs in the air with his dirt-whip. The boy, frightened and confused, as he was, backed up in circles, until he was sort of trapped around the drawings in the air.

Suddenly, the years of study with her father in the art of war, made her conscious remember what those markings meant. She woke up violently and began to hit the windows, panicked:

'NO! Brother, run! Don't stay in the circle! Don't!!! Enshu!!!!'

She ran outside the chamber and headed for the field.

'Wh-why did she do that?' burst Kuwabara confused. 'What do those markings mean?'

'Those markings are symbols of a warrior.'

Kurama explained calmly, with a sad look on his face.

'She knows that' Hiei added. 'She comes from a family of warriors, if she knows that. Those markings are actually curses. Once used, the person upon they are cursed will be killed in an instant. All it takes is to arrange the markings in a circle in the air and to place your opponent inside the circle…'

'What?!' burst Kuwabara scared.

'You mean her brother will be killed, if he…'

Yusuke didn't finish his sentence. There was a thick sound in the air, as if someone was hitting an iron thing constantly. When his eyes looked closely on the ring, he saw the drawings being tied by an energetic light, powerful and strong. Ensatsu, trembling, panicked and started to scream. But it wasn't because he was afraid of what might happen. But because the unification of those markings created some sort of electric field, which attacked his body like it had been wet. His flesh started to thin up and actually hurt him.

As he screamed, he fell on his knees and tried to overcome the pain.

'You can't stop it, boy! You have blood inside your flesh! The electric neutrons know that already… your body will practically blow off. Who's the old man now, boy?'

Kai started to laugh evilly. Ensatsu managed to lift his eyes:

'Bastard… I'll see you soon in hell…'

Suddenly, his eyes trembled at the sight of someone crying and calling his name, while running towards the arena. He smiled tenderly and closed his eyes…

Rie ran to her brother. She was frightened and she felt helpless…

_Ensatsu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

_You must carry on the battle, dear sister…_

She stopped suddenly.

… _you must carry on, and win The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell… you shall be its Guardian… somehow, I always knew it was you who was chosen… not I … I love you, dear sister… I always had… remember that…_

Instantly, there was an explosion. Her eyes caught the sight of a great fire emerging from inside the circle and her brother was shrugged into pieces, as his flesh disappeared into many different places around the ring.

Filled with blood from his opponent, Kai burst victoriously into laughter of joy, as the crowd acclaimed and applauded him, with its complete satisfaction for its desires of flesh and blood.

'Oh, god…' muttered Kuwabara worried.

'I never actually saw that being performed before…' said Kurama. 'I didn't know how the spell would go…'

'Shut up, you guys!' burst Yusuke angry. 'Just shut up!'

He ran from the chamber, to also head for the field.

'And the winner is… Kai, the second of the Shichinintai!!!' was heard from the ring, as people were overwhelmed by the victory and brutality this battle had.

Rie ran on the ring and fell on her knees, facing only a small chain which always lied on her brother's neck. She cried silently, as she felt the winner walking around the ring with victory on his side. She felt something pumping inside, something which wanted to get out, but she was still too shocked and frightened to spill it out yet. It was that exact feeling which she hadn't had for a long time. It was that feeling which was born from the day she saw her father doing that strange spell.

'Now, girl… you have no other one in your team…' a voice was heard behind her. 'What will you do, little bitch…? You're all alone, with no one to fight for you…'

Yusuke came on the field and screamed angrily:

'Hey, you punk! You didn't have to kill! It's a goddamn tournament. People fight here, they don't kill!'

'He killed my brother and no one cared for that!'

Kai bashed his smile with a terrible look on his face, as he pointed the girl on the ring. He started to speak to the crowd:

'You wanted flesh? I gave you flesh! You wanted blood? I gave you blood! Wasn't that what you asked??!'

The crowd cheered enthusiastically.

Kai circled the girl around, saying:

'She's left alone now! Which leads us to the next battle! I will not rest until I see her die too. If she stays, then she dies! Aren't those the rules?!?'

'YES!!!'

'You heard them, little bitch: if you stay, you die!'

He approached her and suddenly hit her with his arm, throwing her on the ground:

'You'll die!'

'Hey!' burst Yusuke angrily. 'Pick on somebody your own seize!'

'The rules forbid me to do that, boy!' grinned Kai. 'I'll have to get along with this little sliming crawler, as the rules say so… ha, ha, ha! Get up!'

He hit her again, this time with his leg, causing her to tumble around and stop straight in the middle of the ring. Kai laughed shortly, smiling, as he said:

'Right where I wanted you, little bitch… Now dance for me!'

He drew his whip in the air and attacked her with it. The cloth around her neck broke, so the blouse revealed a thin neck.

'Kill her, kill her!' demanded the crowd.

Kai hit her again with his whip. As the string made a wound on her neck, a sharp cut from which blood was spilled, her sleeves were also taken away. Still, she remained on the ground, without moving, as if dead.

'Don't sleep, hore! I'll kill you!' the demon laughed. 'I'm tired of using the whip. Physical touching is better…'

He got her up and he punched her strongly, as if she were a stone which needed a lot of strength to be smashed. She was thrown on the ground, with her clothes partially broken.

'Stop that, she's dead already! Let her be!' yelled Yusuke gnashing his teeth. 'Stop it right now!'

'You're no one to stop me, boy! She was one to do that, but she lost her chance long ago! Now, it's my turn!'

He screamed again, as he threw her in the air, high enough not to be seen anymore. Everyone panicked, as they looked up to search for her.

'This spell will wake her up!'

Kai told some words in a different and foreign language, as he seemed to magically gather all the earth around the arena. It formed huge columns of dirt. As he rolled his arms, in the air, his gesture intensified the columns in becoming much more powerful. Suddenly, his palms united and so did the columns, in a deadly javelin.

'MEET YOUR BROTHER IN HELL, LITTLE HORE! '

There was something marvelous happening in the air. A sudden explosion again, and something hard and heavy striking something else. Yusuke watched the sky scared, as he couldn't explain what had happened. Finally, there was silence, as Kai dragged his dirt columns back to normal. With them, something heavy fell from the sky. It was a girl's body. It didn't reach the earth, when the demon screamed furiously another spell and with his hands, he controlled her body and threw her in a total strength on the ground. The hard-stoned ring was cracked in two and dragged so, until the end of the left side of it. Deep inside the whole that was made by that cut was the lost corpse of a girl.

The demon started to laugh in silence:

'I killed her! I killed the last one of them! The brothers are gone! The Munashiu brothers are gone!'

He shut up, victoriously. Afterwards, he turned towards Yusuke:

'We fight next, boy! Me and my brothers against your low kind!'

Yusuke sharpened his eyes:

'You'll pay for her death! As your brothers will with you!'

'Was she your…'

'B-bastard…'

Suddenly everyone stopped astonished. Yusuke trembled. Kai turned slightly to the crack made in the ring.

'What the…?'

He silenced as he saw a hand… two hands… coming out of the hole… and then, she finally got out…

He startled. Rie Munashiu had awakened from her place. The mask was no longer covering her face. Her beauty was revealed. She had bright red eyes, with a black long hair, reflecting at times different colors, because of the sun-raises. Her skin was white and pure, still decently hidden behind her black clothes. But as she woke up, she seemed surrounded by a strange and frightening aura, as her body appeared to emerge a different sort of energy. Winds blew around her, in sign for her growing power and her half-demon appearance. And as she looked at the murderer of her brother, her heart boiled with fury and grief, with a sort of unfulfilled vengeance… _vengeance is not a small amount of evil… it is merely its beginning…_

'How the hell…?' burst Kai confused.

'_You thought you had slaughtered me that easily, did you? Did you?! I'll teach you a lesson, bastard! One you have never faced in your life!'_

She grow angrier, her appearance burst into one of a dark angel's… her voice changed into one that was deep and powerful… the wind blew so hard, it made huge black wings grow from her spine. Her dark clothes tighten up on her flesh, forming some sort of veils around her. Her eyes burned into a deep and bloody red, filled with anger and evil.

As she raised her hands heavily, the ground cracked, as it shook everything on it.

Yusuke grabbed the walls scared, while hearing the crowd screaming frightened. The field, the arena, everything was shaking from something frighteningly inexplicable.

Kai looked at his new opponent with his eyes trembling:

'H-how could you…? You little hore!'

'_Who are you calling hore, you confounded bastard ?! You've cursed me and you've underestimated me since I first came here… a hanyou, you laughed! A hanyou?! You think you could harm me with your despicable remarks?! The one thing you did to me and it was the greatest mistake of your life: you've murdered my brother… and for that, a hanyou would never forgive his opponent. Remember these words, as you drown in hell, youkai: vengeance isn't a small part of evil… it is merely its beginning…'_

Suddenly, what Yusuke saw next, he could not explain. A blinding light covered the stage where they were and he could swear that no one had ever seen what happened underneath that light. He only heard the instant terrifying screams of the Shichinintai demon, which continued in a morbid song of death. In a second, the ground shook hard and violently, as it announced the performance of something greater than any other demon power in the world. It only lasted for a few minutes, during which a strong wind blew up Kai's screams and afterwards everything banished into fin air. The crowd finally managed to see what was happening on the ring. But it was all over. There was nothing replaced and nothing moved.

The Shichinintai warrior was gone. He had simply disappeared… on the ring, there lied only a girl, half naked, with a tired face and confusion inside her head, with no black wings anymore, nor the presence of a dark angel, as she realized she had finally summoned the spell her father never managed to explain to her. And so it was true: she could not remember what had happened until she found herself lying on the arena like this. She remembered her brother's death and the point where her anger grew. But she could not remember the minutes that had just passed.

Yusuke ran worried to catch her before her tired body could feel the ground once more. The crowd suddenly cheered enthusiastically, as it became aware of the fact that the winner was finally the weakest from them both. They all started to call her name:

'Rie!'

She slightly opened her eyes, looking at Yusuke:

'Wh-what ha-happened…?'

He looked at her stunned:

'You don't remember what happened?! You… You killed Kai… you won… don't you remember the…?'

'It so… hurts…' she cried.

Yusuke looked at her seriously. She was a very beautiful girl. It wasn't understandable why she had hid her face under all those clothes. He got her in his arms, as he rose her up:

'You have to rest… you'll fight with us tomorrow. We've chosen your team to be our allies and…'

'I have no team now…' she cried.

'You have us, Rie…'

'Yusuke!'

Kuwabara called him worried, from the entrance on the field. Yusuke went to him and being bigger than him, Kuwabara grabbed Rie in his arms, and turned to leave:

'Say something, Rie… don't fall asleep, please…'

As the crowd cried of joy, a new match was announced, a game between other warriors.

'Wh-what would you want me to tell you, Kuwabara..?' she whispered.

'Anything! Just talk! We'll be at the nurseries in a minute…'

'How could I not see his moves…?' she cried for the last time and finally fainted.

'Rie…'

CHAPTER IV:

**The Continuance And The Allies **

Her eyes trembled as she woke up in a soft bed, with a lot of light around the room she was put in. As her red eyes opened, she first saw a wide opened window, through which the sun-light had entered. She saw something different on the skies, something like a ray, but it was different from the ones the sun was sending. It was black…

She got up on her base, as she watched the dark ray coming upon her opened window. She started to tremble. Suddenly, she heard a voice…

_How could you have not seen his moves, sister? How could you have left me to die...? You could have done something… you didn't stop me from that circle of markings… you killed me…_

Her eyes got wet, as she closed them, whispering:

'Don't cry to me… if you loved me, you would be here with me… you wanted me, confided me… make up your mind!'

All of a sudden, the door opened and Kuwabara came in:

'Sorry I didn't knock. I thought you were still asleep. How are you feeling now?'

She smiled pleasantly:

'I'm alright, thank you. A good sleep put me back on my feet.'

The next moment, Yusuke came in too. He was smiling enthusiastically:

'Guess what, Kuwabara?! Our next fight's with that junk, the Houra team. I bet we can beat them up pretty fast. Oh, hi, Rie! Glad you've waken up!'

'Thanks, Yusuke… and thank you also for carrying me out of there…'

She looked at the window:

'I was so tired…'

'Yeah, well, some more rest and you'll be on your feet in no time' smiled Kuwabara. Yet, he saw her sad, looking at the floor.

She sighed miserably:

'I killed him, didn't I?'

'What are you saying?' burst Kurama, suddenly, from the entrance door. 'Of course you didn't kill him! How could you…?'

'… I did, didn't I?' she muttered continuously. 'I could have foreseen his moves… I couldn't concentrate. I should have done that… why didn't I do that?'

'You were tired… and besides, Kai was too fast for…'

'Don't you try to lighten me!' she burst angrily at Kurama, and they all looked at her silently. 'I know what happened on the field before I killed that bastard! I know it! So don't try to comfort me with anything!'

'Does that mean you're gonna continue on fighting?'

The voice bumped from behind them. Then, Hiei was revealed. He wasn't smiling and he had still that frowning look on his face. She looked at him for a while, until she finally said:

'Yes, I will continue what we had begun. I made a promise to him, and I intend to keep it.'

She looked out the window:

'I will win that sword even if it costs me my life… and if that would be so… then… the whole world will follow me to hell.'

'What do you mean?' asked Yusuke intrigued.

'That's no ordinary sword, you blind people!' she burst angrily, as she woke up from her bed. 'There's much more to it than gold and power! Than _healing_ powers…'

Kuwabara and Kurama startled at that word which she seemed to underline. Hiei made a step forward:

'Then, what is it?'

'You have a secret to keep, I have a secret to keep. It's best we leave it that way. Just know this: if I won't win the sword… then, practically no one will…'

She watched his red eyes sharply. Afterwards, went back on her bed, muttering as she looked at the window:

'Thank you for your concern, Kuwabara… Yusuke… but I will fight Naragou, the third of the Shichinintai in my next combat. Even if I won't perform what I had performed a few hours ago…'

Yusuke and his friend, Kuwabara, looked at her frowningly. Hiei stepped back.

''Let's let her be now…' whispered Kurama and he and Hiei got out.

Kuwabara breathed hard, as he said:

'We chose you to fight with us against the Houra team and…'

'…and we will fight together then, Kuwabara' she smiled to him pleasantly.

Kuwabara sketched a happy smile as well:

'Alright then, Rie. We'll see you on the battlefield tomorrow… bye now'

He also left. Yusuke remained, still looking at her. She still felt his presence and said:

'I'm not backing up, if you're still going to try…'

'No, I wasn't going to try anything. I understand you, as well as I understand your decision of keeping that promise of yours. It's just…'

He sighed heavily. Afterwards, he touched her shoulder:

'Be careful, ok?'

She laughed shortly, sure of herself, which made him blush. After all, he was still a teenager…

'Don't worry, Yusuke. I'll be just fine…'

She got up childishly and grabbed his face with her palms and kissed his on his left cheek, making his cheeks burn with a feeling of embarrassment mixed with surprise.

'H-hey!' he backed up somewhat panicked. 'Y-you didn't have to do that!'

He wiped out her kiss from his cheek, as she laughed secretly. He looked at her, how she giggled. He felt like they were a couple of teenagers all alone in the school-yard, with the girl playing up to seduce him. Well, at least he managed to cheer her up. Still, he felt a bit stupid and embarrassed.

'Right…' he muttered in the end. He opened the door to get out. But as he was just closing it, he caught a glimpse of her again. Rie was watching out the window, desolated, with her gaze lost somewhere in the void, as if she had been searching for something for many… many years… pity she had found it just now…

The crowd was flooding the battle-field with its screams and jeers, while Yusuke's team found themselves already on the ring. Opposite them, there were four participants out of the Houra team and another one who seemed to be hidden under several dark cloaks.

Somebody announced them, as another warrior entered the field and in that moment, when it appeared in the presence of the spectators, the crowd burst into infernal cheers, as they all remembered their favorite fighter, Rie Munashiu. She was wearing a long, black cloth over her healed body, as she also got on the ring. Kuwabara looked at her and smiled happily:

'Glad you're back, Rie!'

She smiled:

'Thank you, Kuwabara. Are they the ones we fight?'

'Yes. So do your best' burst Hiei's voice in a serious way.

She nodded, as she studied every Houra participant. But her eyes fell on the one hidden behind the cloaks. She felt somewhat unsafe with that person on the field.

'And… BEGIN!!!'

The warriors from Houra started their attack on each and every opponent. Yusuke was fast enough to hit one of them with incredibly rapid fists, until his opponent fell on the ground too dizzy to continue. Kuwabara was dealing with a tall and muscled guy called Touji and this guy was using his powers to form small water-balls in the air which proved to be true bombs of poisonous liquid. At one point, Kuwabara was attacked by another warrior, while he was still fighting with Touji. Rie burst with 5 minutes before the opponent could strike Kuwabara. She hit the man with her feet and as he fell on the ground, he spit some fire out which made her back up protectively.

Hiei was dealing with a massive warrior, probably the most terrifying of them all. As Hiei tried to use his dark magic upon him, it seems this guy called Garika absorbed all his powers, becoming stronger and stronger.

In a few minutes, the field was resting under Yusuke's team's and the two other opponent's feet.

'You can't defeat me with ordinary spells, you idiots!' burst Garika proudly, making Hiei angry.

'Who do you call _ordinary_, bastard?!' bumped Kuwabara angrily. 'And you're the idiot one here! Because you're gonna lose!'

Kurama turned worried, as he said:

'You mustn't underestimate his powers, Kuwabara. He is strong… can't you see he had absorbed every power of Hiei's?'

'This guy just won't die…' said Yusuke.

Hiei stood silent and breathing heavily, as he had just been beaten a bit by Garika. Rie seemed to back up a bit. She knew something about that evil guy, as she studied him in a few minutes of fighting. Yes, indeed, he had gathered Hiei's powers with Hiei attacking him. But Garika had not foreseen one small, insignificant thing… so, she smiled:

'Why don't you attack me, bastard? I'm sure you'd want that power of mine to foreseen the enemy's moves before he himself had done it…'

'Rie!' burst Kuwabara frightened.

Garika smiled evilly:

'So you chose death, do you, little witch? Fine, then… prepare to die…'

Suddenly, watching Rie's eyes, Yusuke understood what she wanted the monster to do. So, when Garika took a deep breath to inhale a big amount of air, in order to blow a huge quantity of power to kill the girl, he suddenly jumped in the air, grabbed her body, and throwing her somewhere to protect her, he had managed in just a few seconds to overcome Garika's spell.

'Mirror-block!' yelled Yusuke.

The monster's own magic charm had been blocked by the boy's spell and the hex he had just unleashed turned back against him. What was left for Garika to do the next minute was to scream frightened, as his own spell banished his head into several pieces.

Blood was spilled around the arena, to the delight of the crowd. They now screamed and acclaimed Yusuke's name.

'Good going, Yusuke!' burst Kuwabara smiling enthusiastically, as Kurama smiled and Hiei somewhat tendered his look, but it still remained cold and frowning. Rie smiled to Yusuke:

'You've done well."

'Thank you. I figured that out in a mi…'

'Not too slight, I should say, my dears…' burst a soft, disgusting voice from the mysterious man. As he spoke, he revealed himself:

'I am Harun, the great demon of hell, and as I joined my companions to kill for winning that beautiful sword, I shall intend to continue my battle. You all are nothing but weak-bloods…'

His face was covered with scars, and he was a well-built man, with white hair and dark, blinding eyes. He carried a sword in his right hand which seemed to be attached to his arm. He studied each of Yusuke's warriors, and smiled, saying proudly:

'I watched you fight… I saw how you people use your powers… I memorized them. Now, there's nothing you can do about it. Ha, ha, ha!'

'I don't really like people who laugh while they're losing…' growled Hiei and tried to make a move to attack, but Rie touched his shoulder, stopping him. She whispered:

'Don't do that. The first thing he'll do, when you jump is to turn quickly to his right. He'd strike your back in a second.'

Hiei listened to her. She watched the man with an intense look, trying to remember a few things her father might have taught her about how to deal with an opponent of this warrior's level. It only took a minute, before she could burst to Kuwabara, as she knew that in a few seconds, Harun's attack power might have hurt the young man.

'Kuwabara! To your left! Now!'

Kuwabara didn't ask questions and Harun's spell missed him on an inch, when he did as Rie told him to. Harun stopped and looked at her:

'So… I forgot it's you who knows what I do before I do it…'

'Enough talking!' burst Yusuke angrily and tried to attack him. Harun was pretty fast and blew him away with a strong kick which he did only by rolling his eyes. Yusuke screamed as he was thrown away in the air over to the edge of the ring. Kurama ran to him to help him up:

'Yusuke! Are you alright?'

As they got on their feet, Hiei and Kuwabara looked at Harun.

'What are you…?' whispered Kuwabara.

'I am nothing more, nothing less than what you see, boy: a mere warrior in search for his prize… which he eventually will gain.'

Harun grinned ugly, afterwards jumped in the air, bursting:

'Feel my powers, bastards!'

'Spread into a circle!' Rie warned them worried.

As Kurama and Yusuke took the left side and Hiei and Kuwabara the other side, the attack of Harun's might have been in vain, if the monster hadn't smile and draw his spell towards the girl:

'I was aiming for you, bitch!'

'RIE!'

'I knew that, idiot!' she smiled meanly.

Her gesture confused the warrior, but it was too late for him to see Hiei, as he jumped in the air and drew his sword into a mortal dance which cut Harun's body into pieces so fast that it only took other 45 second for the bastard to notice his deadly wounds.

Everybody stood silent, as Harun's body touched the ground in a perfect shape of a man still living. But even so, as tired as he was, he laid on the ground, while Hiei appeared at his feet.

'H-how did…' whispered Harun still confused.

'She talked to me in my mind. She told me your exact plan… I was only happy to agree with what I had to do. Bastards like you are the ones I hate the most…' grinned Hiei ugly.

Kuwabara and Yusuke approached them surprised by the turning of things. They almost believed Rie could have died. But she was next to Kurama, looking at the defeated warrior… she had recognized him from a battle he had against her father long before.

She kneeled in front of him, as around them there was the same strong voice which announced the winners. The crowd cheered and acclaimed Yusuke's team's name. Still, she ignored them, watching the almost dying man with a tender look:

'Tell me' she whispered, 'why do you want that sword that bad…? Was it because of its powers?'

'No…' Harun answered with his last breath.

She startled and approached her ear towards his lips…

'Because it is The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell…'

She let go of a short surprised sound. But before she could say anything to the man, Harun fell dead, with his blood spreading around the ring. She sighed sadly.

Kuwabara got her on her feet, saying:

'Are you alright, Rie?'

'Yes, I am. Thank you… and you?'

'Fine. We're all fine. Partially thanks to you.'

Hiei came to her with his usually frowning face. He sighed seriously as they both measured themselves in each other's eyes.

'Why had you chosen me to kill him? Kurama was nearer than me. I could have been too late.'

He smiled a bit for that remark. She smiled also, to his sketched surprise:

'I chose you because you're faster, Hiei… _You define my brother through your strength…_

He startled slightly, as he heard her thoughts. But he didn't do anything. He looked at his friends, how they were cheering happily for going ahead with the tournament.

CHAPTER V:

**The Third Of The Shichinintai**

They were all relaxed and confident in their strengths, now that they were ahead with another level. They had reached the 12th level and it wasn't long before they might enter the semifinals.

Kuwabara and Yusuke were practically dancing of joy, as they were going outside the arena to take a walk home.

Rie was joining them. The crowd was preparing itself for another bloody battle, between other teams coupled with other players against double opponents.

'We won! That's so great! We'll be reaching the finals in no time!' burst Yusuke happily.

'And we're gonna kick anybody's ass alright!' continued Kuwabara enthusiastically.

They both jumped up and down, as they walked around the leading road. Kurama and Hiei were a bit behind them. Kurama looked at Rie:

'Who are you going to fight next, Rie?'

'I don't actually know. If they choose, I could fight any of them. Including two at a time. But I won't be giving up! Who will you be fighting?'

'We're ahead from you. Our next opponents are the Tokochinai. The skillful warriors of fire.'

He stopped in order to wait for her and walk beside. She sighed:

'Your rivals seem dangerous. Do you know anything about them?'

'Yes, as a matter of fact, we do. They are three brothers. A girl and two boys. Naga is a powerful witch who uses the wind to attack her pray. And the other two are twins, therefore they're only influential if they're together. One on one, they have powers of their own but much weaker.'

'I see… well, I'm sure you will do just fine.'

'What about you?' asked Kurama all of a sudden. She looked at him confused.

She raised her look upon him:

'What about me?'

'What will you do? You said you didn't remember how you performed that spell. It was a powerful one. I have no knowledge of it…'

'Yeah, it was magnificent!' burst Kuwabara, coming next to them. They all stopped to rest at the coolness of some trees.

Hiei climbed one up, to rest on a strong branch. Yusuke and Kuwabara took seats on some rocks, and Kurama leaned against the tree Hiei was resting in. Rie sat on the grass, as she said:

'It was great, wasn't it...?'

'Yes, it was. I never saw such a thing' said Yusuke.

'Me either!' bumped Kuwabara.

'You come from a warriors' family, don't you?' asked Hiei all of a sudden, in a cold tone of voice.

She smiled bitterly:

'Yes, I do. Me and my brother… we come from a family called Munashiu. It's only natural you have no knowledge of them. Their village is deep into the mountains, from where all the great swords and fighters Kuwabararialize into great world-wide battles. At least, that's how my father described his birth-village. He raised me into believing that. And I still do…'

'Where is your father now?' asked Kurama.

'My family was robbed, murdered and raped when I was a younger child than I am now. Maybe 4 or 5… in ten years, life gives you a lot of chances to become strong enough to ignore the evil of world. Even though my brother never told me he loved me, he raised me, still, making me what I am now.'

'That's a good thing' smiled Kuwabara nicely.

She smiled to him too:

'Yes, I know, thank you. But even though I don't have any battle skills, due to the fact that I am a hanyou, my only basis is knowing an enemy's moves with some time before he even accomplishes it. I'm like a… a defense card, if you want to!'

She smiled enthusiastically.

Hiei jumped from his tree, in front of her:

'And you think you can defeat the Shichinintai by using _that_ power? You need to know more than what the opponent does next, concerning those bastards. Guess your brother didn't teach you that…'

His words weren't very nice.

'Hiei…' said Kurama. Yusuke frowned his eyes, towards his friend.

'Why don't you shut up already!' burst Kuwabara angrily, to Hiei. 'It's not you whose brother was smashed into pieces in front of your own eyes!'

The girl sighed:

'Well, in a way he's right. But that doesn't mean he's entirely right!'

Suddenly, she watched Hiei with an ugly look, as she drew an evilly smile:

'After all, he's not the one to hold that much power as I held back then…'

The black-haired boy startled for a few seconds, as if her words actually hurt his dignity. Kuwabara and Kurama smiled rascally.

'Touch down-score, I should say, hum, Hiei?' smiled Yusuke as well.

'Shut up, Yusuke!' growled Hiei.

He unexpectedly jumped in the air and disappeared from their sight. Kurama sighed heavily:

'He always does that when somebody makes him feel like he's wrong or something. I apologize, Rie.'

'Why should you do that? It's not you to raise him like that. It's his own nature. Shall we go back?' she smiled a bit tired.

'_I search my world, but I can't find you, you're standing there but I can't touch you… try to talk but the words are just not there. I can feel your sense of danger… you're starring at me like I'm a stranger… paralyzed and you don't seem to kill the demons in my dreams…' _

She prayed those words in her mind, thinking of her brother, before she got on the field. As her presence reached the crowd's eye, they acclaimed her and called her name in an enthusiastic tone of voice. The entire arena was flooded with whistles, screams and cheers, as she continued her road towards the huge battle-ring.

'Rie! Rie! Rie!'

She stopped in the left of the battle-stage and she looked up, towards the warriors' chambers. Kuwabara waved at her smiling from there. Yusuke was next to him. She smiled back to Kuwabara afterwards set her eyes upon the third of the Shichinintai, Naragou. He was a beautifully looking man, with long, wavy hair and had the face of an angel. Little did she know that he was one of those demons who regenerates into painful things…

'And… BEGIN!!!'

Naragou was the first to make a step forward. He had a repulsive smile on his face, as he watched her bit by bit. Rie felt somewhat studied like some sort of training animal…

'So you're the gladiator of their satisfactions…' he muttered in a low but jeering voice. 'See this? They all call your name and worship you. But are you different from us? You killed two of my brothers… and that makes you a murderer… you even killed your own… '

(he suddenly emerged a grey smoke and embraced himself in it. But it only lasted for a few seconds. As the smoke disappeared, while he spoke to her, she startled frightened, as the image of her own brother took the place of Naragou…)

'… brother…'

Sudden whispers of surprise passed through the entire arena. Kuwabara and Yusuke startled stunned.

'W-what…?' gulped Kuwabara amazed.

Yusuke watched Rie frowning his eyes in a sort of fear mixed with unpleasant surprise.

The girl, on the other hand, looked at her brother frightened and confused:

'Enshu… Ensatsu…?'

'Oh, no, my dear, no… just a mere reflection of your brother's… to remind you of what you had done not very long ago… just before you killed my second brother… that for which you shall pay!'

As his smile disappeared, the monster, with the shape of her brother's summoned suddenly a spell which made the winds gather:

'Oh, great Tempests of Fury, lay your guidance upon me, to make this creature fly higher in the sky and make her your own sacrifice. Do you hear me? SACRIFICE!'

He suddenly let go of an enormous light-gathering, which was aimed for Rie. Knowing what he was just about to do, with at least 5 seconds before he would do it, Rie jumped aside frightened.

'So, you want to play, is it?' Naragou smiled bitterly. 'Well, then, little bitch… PLAY! Dance of Thunders!' he summoned again, as he threw another group of electric light-gathering upon her. Again, Rie jumped on the other side, but was struck on her left ankle. She screamed suddenly, for her flesh had been burnt. She laid on the ground.

Naragou laughed hard and cruelly, while he prepared another attack.

'Listen to me, girl! Give up! You will never defeat me, nor even touch me… you'll end up dead, rutting less than 5 meters underground, eaten by worms and vermin, while your mind will forever linger upon your upcoming sins. They will come to face you one day, little hore. Cause all you do in life, comes back to you… and when you meet your brother in hell, tell him that I wish I should have done you long ago… ever before he did… Ha, ha, ha!'

As she heard him, she startled… somehow, her flesh began to thrust…

'Would you rather have me do it now?' Naragou laughed harder, jeeringly.

Suddenly, from the edge of the ring, huge strings appeared, and the Shichinintai demon burst:

'Well, it's like we're locked up, little hore. Just you and me, girlie… no one else. I guess I shall take my reward after all… Ha, ha, ha! Come here, you…'

He grabbed her arms…

'They can't let this happen!' burst Yusuke disapprovingly.

He ran again outside the chamber. Kuwabara followed him, as well worried.

Her body began to turn light…

'W-what…?' Naragou's voice mumbled confused.

When Yusuke and Kuwabara reached the edge of the field, they didn't see anything anymore. There was a large grey smoke coming from inside the electrical base that surrounded the ring. All they heard was a soft voice and a light which suddenly penetrated the grey smoke.

'_You dare touch me, demon come from Hell? I am the Angel of Light which can only be touched by the purest of the Heavens…! Never have I seen such a tormented creature like you… you call me a murderer…? A murderer…! I am an Angel… and angels never kill… and while my sins are all forgiven and turned into illumination, your sins shall be dark and heavy as lead and they shall curse upon you the greatest reimburse you've ever faced… embrace your sins, sinner!'_

Yusuke and Kuwabara startled scared and confused, as everyone in the arena did, for the scream of Naragou's was so frightening and terrified that itself should have defined something of huge iniquity, hidden behind the grey smoke. The ground shook again, this time the earth parted into small, sharp cracks, like it feared the almost catastrophic gravity which had placed upon the ring.

Everyone was asking themselves what was going on. They were all frightened and impatient. Suddenly, the earth stopped shaking and the smoke began to fade. And also, the terrifying screams were cut off straight, everything returning into a deep silence.

'She has cast her strange spell again!' someone from the crowd burst.

Yusuke and Kuwabara startled. Kurama and Hiei came next to them.

'What happened?' asked Kurama frightened.

'We don't know!' explained Kuwabara confused.

'I think she performed that spell again…' muttered Hiei with his cold voice. Without waiting for another reply, he went up to the ring, which had been cleared off now of the grey smoke.

He saw Naragou's body or what was left of it because he had been melted. His flesh was stretched around like some sort of muddy substance and laid there watching with big turbulent eyes his death, as his blood was still spreading around the ring. Beside him laid a girl's body, hers alive… tired and breathing hard, she had only a scar which dragged upon the right eye down to her chin. Her hands were burnt and so was her left ankle.

Hiei took Rie's body into his arms, lifting her up.

'Is she alive?' asked Kurama, but also the crowd wanted to know that, not only the other guys from Yusuke's team.

'Yeah, she's alive alright…' muttered Hiei.

Out of the blue, everyone started to cheer and call her name and overwhelm her again:

'Rie!'

Hiei took her away from the ring, as it was announced that Rie Munashiu was the winner of this combat and was to continue her fight against the other four Shichinintai.

'Is she really alright?' asked Yusuke looking at her, from Hiei's arms.

She somehow opened her eyes tired. But all she whispered was…

'….guardian…'

CHAPTER VI:

**Tell Me What The Rain Knows**

It started to rain by the time they were all heading for the hotel. There were only the boys, for Rie was left at the nursery again. Yusuke had just the thought of paying her a visit, now that they had one day free.

Hiei had his same frowning cold face, but still, as Kurama noticed, there were some marks of sketched tenderness, since he had carried Rie out of the battle-field.

Suddenly, while Kuwabara was mumbling happily a joyful song, he burst:

'Hey, I think I just remembered they're serving for free today! I'm pretty hungry. I think I'm going ahead! See ya, guys!'

Kuwabara started to run. Yusuke looked at the clouds. They were a bit moody and in a minute, there was heard the deaf sound of a thunder. He sighed, as he stopped and turned towards another way in the forest they were just crossing. No one noticed his sudden decision.

Kurama and Hiei remained alone.

'You seemed bothered by something, am I wrong, Hiei?' asked Kurama with a bit of smile.

Hiei didn't answer at first. Kurama had to clear his throat before his friend could hear him. Still, even then, Hiei was satisfied only to gaze at his friend.

The rain started hard and sudden. It was as if the earth demanded some cleaning up before another day of battles… just to wipe away all the blood that had been spilled.

Hiei looked up, at the sky, sighing, still with that serious look on his face.

'What are you thinking?' asked Kurama.

'I'm thinking of him! That's who I'm thinking!'

Kurama looked at him frowningly:

'That's pretty odd, Hiei. You never seem to think about that friend of ours, across the seas, with that incurable disease until now. Why the sudden guilt? I was the one worrying here about him, not you.'

'I didn't say I was worried. I merely said I thought about him.'

Hiei had answered in a deep and calm voice, as if he was very sure of his answer, not being funny or weird in any way. Kurama shrugged his shoulders finally and waited for his friend to climb a tree and rest on some branches. But he couldn't help his guess being confirmed:

'You thought about her actually, didn't you? Ever since she said you resemble much of her brother…'

'I wasn't thinking of her…' answered Hiei bored.

'Oh, yes, you were. You're not as surprised of her inexplicable hex as Yusuke and Kuwabara are because somehow, you know she's meant for that greater power. What eats you inside is to find out why is she holding such a great power and how come she never knows anything about it. Admit it, Hiei: you hate the fact that she's much more powerful than us all together… if she'd use that spell, we'll all lose the tournament.'

Hiei stood silent. But after a while, he smiled shortly and a bit meanly:

'Hm… you have a good intuition…'

'I'm not done yet, you know. I also think you might like her…'

Hiei's eyes trembled surprised. Looking somewhere in the void, he suddenly had the impulse of hitting Kurama in the head. But all he did was to growl:

'Your intuition failed you at this point…'

'No, I don't think so… you see, Hiei, to me you are a predictable person, in the end. Being so arrogant and selfish at times, with few words to say, but a great pleasure for deeds, you became a predictable person for the likes of me. Therefore, I am not wrong, nor did I say such a thing in vain.'

Kurama looked up, at where Hiei should have been, lying on the branch:

'I just simply guessed, and you confirmed that'

Kurama left towards the hotel, leaving Hiei alone in the rain. Soon, Hiei started to growl, and finally, he sniffed carelessly.

The rain fell down quietly, as she hid in the depths of the forest, away from the nursery. Nobody saw her gone from her bed. She didn't feel weak nor strong. She just wanted to try and accomplish something more or less impossible.

She stopped in a small peaceful spot. In front of her there lied a huge rock, twenty times her height.

Rie sighed, as she looked upon the massive stone, while she thought of a few words to say so she could unleash the spell… but it seemed for a while to be useless…

Yusuke was just about to go back to the hotel, after he had finally took the decision to turn back because all he could do, if he were to visit Rie at the nursery would have been to annoy her. She needed some rest. But as he turned to his right, to face again the trees of the forest, he heard some weird voices not far from where he stopped. Curious, but also intrigued, he followed the screams until his ears caught other sounds, like someone was fighting something else.

'What in the…?'

He cleared his way and as he did that, he suddenly startled, seeing Rie swearing ugly, holding her bandaged hands. There was a bit of smoke coming out from a small hole in the huge stone in front of her, which meant that she had been training some of her spells on that poor helpless rock…

'Damn stupid rock!' she burst angrily. 'And damn stupid _spell_!'

'Rie, what are you doing?' asked Yusuke all of a sudden, going towards her. 'Why did you run away from the nursery? You're not healed yet…'

'I'm healed when I feel I'm healed. And I damn feel that right now!' she growled, looking upon the stone in front of her again. 'Step away!'

Rie pushed him aside. Afterwards, she gathered her palms attached, like she was praying. She pointed them towards the massive rock and bumped:

'Guardian!'

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Yusuke was about to tell her to stop this nonsense and go back to the nursery. But as he made a step forward, he swiftly stopped in his place, startling astonished. A short sound caused some sort of light to emerge from the girl's gathered fingers and it grew big, as a medium glowing ball. It flew straight from her fingers into the hole in the rock and caused somewhat turbulences around, as the air grew heavier, and the rain seemed to intensify its drops of water.

The light which hit the rock grew bigger when it touched the rough surface, but it didn't last for too long and when it disappeared, it didn't create much damage to the stone. Just that the crack in it deepened.

'Agh!' growled Rie playfully annoyed. 'Damn stupid shitty rock! Blow yourself up, for Heaven's sake!'

'What exactly are you trying to do?' asked Yusuke a bit confused.

'I'm trying to find out the words which summoned that great spell of mine. It's inexplicable how I do it. I need to know it! _ I have to_!'

She sighed heavily, as she let her hands down tired. She threw herself on a smaller rock, looking down.

'W-well, at least you know another spell, and that is this one just now' smiled Yusuke, trying to comfort her.

'Yeah, but this is not the one I was looking for…'

Suddenly, she looked at him seriously:

'Yusuke, why don't you tell me what exactly happens when I unleash this spell…'

For some reason, the boy turned red in his cheeks, but smiled playfully, as he ruffled his hair in a gesture of relaxation and burst:

'Well, it's pretty unusual, you know… the first time you used it, it was like you transformed yourself into a demon or something… like a dark angel… you were all in black, and you had wings and stuff… and…'

'Yes, yes, yes, but… what exactly did I _do_?' she rushed him a bit nervous.

'Well, I remember he said something that really annoyed you because when you transformed yourself as a demon, you started to say things like "how dare you…" , "you are not worthy"… stuffs like that. You said you'd teach him a lesson and then a big light emerged and everyone was blinded by it. The earth began to tremble, like it was an earthquake. But it didn't last too long, cause afterwards the whole light disappeared and there you were, alive and a bit sleepy, while the guy had vanished.'

'Vanished…?' she mumbled.

'Yeah… and yesterday, you transformed yourself into an angel… an angel of light, you said… and when he tried to touch you, that light appeared again, and afterwards, when it was gone, so was Naragou… well, actually he was… smashed into pieces…'

Yusuke bit his lip. But saw that she hadn't listen to what he had said last time. She had a thoughtful look on her face.

'Rie?'

'Hm?'

'Why did you actually join your brother in this tournament? Just for winning the sword?'

She startled. The rain disguised her reaction with its salty tears.

'I, a… I honestly don't remember… my brother w-wanted this… he said it was a challenge. He only took me in, because I could help him win faster.'

She smiled bitterly.

'I think I helped him cheat, somehow… but it was worth it… I got here, where I am now, and I cannot stop now.'

'Yeah, but you really seem to want that sword very much. You said once that if you won't win it, then no one will, in the end.'

She startled, but answered smiling innocently:

'Yes, yes, well, I say a lot of dumb things, you know, Yusuke! You don't have to believe them. He, he…'

'Yeah…' muttered Yusuke rather cheerlessly.

He sat down with that same look on his face, but a bit more pleased with himself in some way. On the other hand, looking at him, Rie felt guilty and felt like punching herself for lying to him.

'Well, anyway…' mumbled Yusuke cheerful, as he raised his gaze upon her, 'it's good you're still alive and safe, you know. T-to continue your brother's job, that is…'

He sort of blushed. Finally, he turned to leave her alone.

'Yusuke!'

He stopped and turned to her with a curious face. She came to him, so that now he blushed even more, while he watched her beautiful face close to his. She blushed as well, and they both looked at each other like scared children. Suddenly, to soften the roses in her cheeks, Rie let her gaze down, searching for something missplaced to say. Instantly, it came to her…

'Yusuke? Did I happen to say in any of those battles, _vengeance is the beginning of evil_?'

Yusuke startled confused:

'W-what… wh-ere… ha?... agh… yeah, I think you did… at first, you said that. Why?'

'I'll also try the words _evil_ and _vengeance_ to see if they work. Thanks for telling me that, Yusuke!' she smiled kindly.

'Yeah…'

Out of the blue, before Yusuke could part from her consistently, the girl grabbed his face with her palms and dragged one of his cheeks so she could seal it with a sweet kiss.

Her gesture made Yusuke burn inside, turn red and begin to panic like a confused and shy teenager:

'W-what are you doing?!'

'I kissed you, Yusuke. You didn't like that?'

'Don't do it so often, ok?' he rugged his cheek again, annoyed, to take off any remains of her lips upon his skin.

She smiled, giggling:

'You are really funny, Yusuke…'

He looked at her surprised. Her eyelashes blushed delicately with tiny drops of rain on them. Her red eyes blinked several times, innocently. Unexpectedly, there was a sense of seduction in the air. A sense of intimacy… she leaned towards him and closed her eyes slowly. Yusuke backed his scared, with his eyes watching her face confused.

'I … I …' he mumbled dizzy.

'_Tell what the rain knows…_'

He startled at her words. Afterwards, somehow breathed relieved. He thought she might have tried something else upon him… in the end, he looked at her frowningly:

'What do you mean?'

She backed up, with her eyes still closed, as if she had smelled the clean, fresh humidity that the rain offered.

'_Your fur is on fire… the smoke turns the whole sky raven-black… and the world upon your back… will crack… where will you go…? Now, you've no home… let the rain wash away your last days…_'

Rie opened her eyes. She smiled happily:

'I'll try again to find that blasted word. I will find out what's causing that forsaken power hidden inside me. I will go on with battles, and I will win that sword! Thus, I shall accomplish my brother's assignment!'

He smiled:

'You seem confident…'

'That's because I am. And you should be too.'

'Yeah, well… I don't want to end up fighting you…' he muttered sadly.

She looked at him:

'It'll be too long before that… we're friends until then. The way I see it from now, we'll always be like that, you know…'

She smiled enthusiastically. Suddenly, she jumped happily in the air, with new strength in her body and this time, she kissed his cheek very strong and fast, too.

'Hey!' burst Yusuke again panicked. 'Stop that!'

'Ups, sorry' she grinned innocently, and started to dance afterwards.

Yusuke looked at her and in the end, started to laugh of her.

CHAPTER VII:

**The Plan And The Advice**

'_I have seen peace, I have seen pain resting on the shoulders of your name… do you see the truth through all their lies? Do you see the world through troubled eyes…? I have seen birth, I have seen death… lived to see a lover's final breath… do you see my guilds? Should I feel fright? Is the fire of hesitation burning bright…? I have seen fear, I have seen faith… seen the look of anger on your face…'_

'I'll cry…'

She let herself on her knees, as soon as she unleashed a spell, summoned by the word _vengeance_. It didn't work… nothing had worked. That is why her body was tired and her mind was too stressed to be working concentrated at that moment. She looked up at the sky, from where the rain had fallen for the past few hours. It must have been past midnight.

Her palms somehow healed themselves, emerging so many hexes. But the last time she looked upon her face in a pond hidden in the forest, the scar crossing her eye remained. She didn't like it at first. But soon she got used to it. She even began to like it.

Suddenly, she stopped. She had heard some whispers, somewhere near her place. Rather scared but also curious and prudent, Rie hid behind some bushes, as she waited in silence. Soon, three silhouettes appeared in the dark. Suddenly, a woman's voice was heard:

'We mustn't lose tomorrow. If we do, we'll lose that beautiful sword. That is what we need the most. The power, brothers! Think of that! The power it offers…'

The woman seemed in exaltation.

'We'll kill those punks, Nara, don't worry. All we need is to kill one of them, the one who's the most powerful, and then we shall regenerate into him. His power will be ours. And it'll be a triple one. The other two won't stand a chance. All we need from you, dear sister, is to distract them.'

Their sister smiled evilly:

'Don't worry, Juntou… it'll be my pleasure. Their pretty little faced-girlie won't be there to join our fight… such a pity… I wish I could have had that chance of ruining her pretty bitchy face. Such a hore… thinking she's such a smart ass…'

Juntou's twin, Tuotou, burst almost weeping:

'Oh, I'm so into that reddish guy, Kurama… he's so hot… I want a piece of him too, you know, Nara… don't hurt him too much. I think I'm in love…'

There was a deaf moan of satisfaction as he said that. His sister smiled provocatively:

'Seriously, Tuotou, why must you fall for every guy you kill?'

'I lick their blood. It's soooo sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet, dear sister… ah…' he moaned again.

'Well, I have to say I'm in for the black-haired guy. He's hot too and he's mine for the taking tomorrow' she started to laugh hard.

Their brother, Juntou, looked around suspiciously, but soon, convinced that no one had listened to them, he also started to laugh with them and shortly, they were off to their hotel. Silence fell around the forest after that.

When she felt safe, Rie got out from her hiding place, with a worried looking face:

'I must warn the boys. With their confidence and powers, they will still not defeat the Tokochinai brothers…'

'_Cry, little sister…'_

'_Thou shall not fall'_

'_Come… come to your brother'_

'_Thou shall not fly…'_

'_Unchain me, sister…'_

'_Thou shall not heal…'_

'_Love is with your brother…'_

'_Thou shall not feel…'_

She finally reached their room. As she usually was, she felt at first shy to even knock at a boys' room. But soon after she took a deep breath, she started to hit the door powerfully, bursting:

'Let me in! I have something to say! Let me in!'

'Well, if it isn't the little hore that killed the first brothers of the Shichinintai…' muttered a soft voice from a demon's who was a warrior as well. He was watching her with some sort of weird feeling in his eyes, as if he wanted to do something to her which wasn't exactly nice…

'Say… you're pretty for a hanyou… you're not promised to anyone, are you, girlie?'

He made a step forward, as she watched him and afraid, she backed up with also a step. The demon smiled meanly:

'Come here, you pretty little hore… we'll have some fun before we fight…'

'F-fight? Who are you?'

'You should have noticed… I'm the fourth of the Shichinintai, Isseishin.'

He grinned provocatively, afterwards suddenly transformed his look into one that was ugly and dangerous:

'I'll make you pay in that future day… just you wait, little hore. That spell of yours won't go on me that fast… you'll see… ha, ha, ha! Now, about that fun… why don't you be a good girl and surrender now? You'll learn to like it too…'

He grinned.

She whispered, backing up scared:

'N-no, I d-don't think I … _wow!_'

She had predicted that the door might be opened in a few seconds, but not that sudden. However, she had not foreseen the fact that she'd end up in… Hiei's arms.

Hiei had grabbed her, before she could have touched the floor. He looked at her at first, seeing her eyes somewhere hidden innocently between his strong arms, lower than his chest.

'S-sorry…' she whispered naively from that spot. 'I w-wanted to talk to you about…'

'I'll see you on combat, hore!'

Suddenly, Isseishin jerked her towards him and took hold of her neck. She gasped suffocated, as he raised her high in the air:

'Commit to memory this, slut: you will remember that day as being the last one you've seen with your pretty eyes… pity I didn't draw that scar on your face… I would have licked it' he said disgustingly.

Swiftly, a soft clink announced that Isseishin was threatened by Hiei with the black-haired boy's sword:

'Let her go, punk.'

Isseishin looked at him in repulsion, but let her fall on the ground, saying:

'Why not? Her dying day will be the day after tomorrow. Ha, ha, ha!'

He laughed hard, as he went for his room.

She looked at him frowningly:

'Why do they keep calling me hore and slut and bitch and stuff? I'm a warrior, not someone you just picked on the street, for heaven's sake…'

Rie got back on her feet and didn't even look at Hiei. She just thanked him shyly, before getting in the room. Hiei watched her for a while, in the end also coming inside his room.

Yusuke bumped from his couch a bit surprised, as he saw Rie Munashiu in their room:

'R-Rie… hi! What are you doing here?'

Kuwabara was just coming out from the bathroom, where he had taken a bath:

'…I just said that…! Agh!' he screamed suddenly, as he also saw Rie and turned red in his cheeks, hiding behind the sofa:

'S-sorry…;

Rie turned her look towards the door, as well frightened and shy:

'F-forgive me too… I … I … I had t-to tell you something important.'

'Well, take a seat on the couch' smiled Kurama, as he remained with an unbuttoned white shirt.

She was still wet from the rain, so after she took a seat on the couch, Yusuke smiled to her and gave her a towel:

'Here you go. You've got to dry yourself up. Or you'll catch a cold.'

'And you clearly don't want to miss the fight with Isseishin the next day after tomorrow, isn't that so?'

Hiei used an ironic way of speaking. She looked at him sharply, and growled shortly, before she could finally decide to ignore his reply. She looked at the others:

'Today, as I was training in the forest, I overheard a not so pleasant conversation. It was between your opponents tomorrow, the Tokochinai brothers…'

'What was it about?' asked Kurama seriously.

As she began her story, they all sat down curiously and intrigued.

'Well, j-just how they were about to plan to kill you guys. Nara said she was the so-called bait, for you guys to attack her, while the other two twin-brothers would kill one of you and resurrect him into one of them. Or something like that…'

Yusuke looked at Kurama worried:

'You know something about that kind of magic?'

'Hm… as I recall, this magic spell requires a lot of training in the art of dark magic. Few are the cases when you succeed entirely. And even if you do, the process is too risky not only for the person you're calling from the dead, but also for you, because there are certain repercussions coming afterwards.'

'Such as?' asked Kuwabara curiously.

'You go mad and you begin to be taken control by the dark magic itself' mumbled Hiei, explaining. 'That means, dumb-head, that you start seeing the dead, and they haunt you, then you transform into all sorts of dark creatures and get eaten inside slowly, like your body is filled with worms.'

'Yack…' Kuwabara got out a disgusting sound.

'Distract us how?' asked Yusuke, a she turned his look towards Rie again.

'I don't know. They didn't say that…'

She bit her lips, as she remembered that Nara had said she'd deal with Hiei because apparently, she liked him. She also remembered Tuotou's moaning voice when it came to Kurama. Her body was trespassed by an unpleasant feeling, at those memories.

'Why did you actually come here to tell us these?' asked Hiei all of a sudden, in a cold voice. 'We're not like your brothers… we're not weak. I could deal with those three punks alone. Their powers won't be anything compared to mine.'

'No, of course not…' she mumbled bitterly.

He held his fist up, in a gesture of strength. Kuwabara got up:

'I'll be excused cause I have to put something on. Sorry about me appearing like this, Rie' he grinned embarrassed.

'No problem, Kuwabara. I too must be excused for bumping up like this, into your guys' room.'

'I'll go make some tea for you' got Kurama up also. 'You've just come in from the rain, and you must be a bit cold.'

'Oh, Thank you, but you shouldn't bother yourself. I was about to leave at this moment'

'On this weather?' got Yusuke on his feet suddenly. 'Are you nuts? You could catch a cold! You could spend the night here, we don't mind. At least, I won't.'

He grinned with all his teeth. Kurama nodded affirmatively to his decision. Kuwabara was about to say yes too. She ignored Hiei's decision. So, she took her seat back on the couch.

'Thanks. So, what will you do tomorrow?'

'I don't know' answered Yusuke. 'I'm sure we'll think of something. Right now, it's important we know, thanks to you. Are your hands ok? Last time I saw them, they looked pretty bad.'

'Oh, for a reason or another, they healed. And then there's…'

They all stood quite. There was a sudden whoosh-sound in the air, like something buzzing around. Hiei had his sword drawn around the room. Kurama looked at him frightened:

'What in places have you done, Hiei?!'

Hiei drew a sketched smile:

'I cut her loose.'

'WHAT?!?!' Yusuke and Kuwabara both bumped stupefied and frightened at the same time. Their eyes trembled with fear, as they watched their friend with disorder.

Rie's body trembled physically, as she looked in the void, not feeling anything. He looked down at the visible wound lying around her waist. Slowly, it was healing, as if it had never been there. She got up suddenly, turning towards Hiei with an ugly look:

'How did you know?'

Hiei smiled:

'It's pretty simple. I found out just by studying you and your reactions. As long as you don't know the nature of that power or you don't use it at the moment, you're invincible. But if you'll find out about it, or you even use it, you become very vulnerable. Believe me, I drew approximately ten cuts into your body. Most of them, you haven't even felt them at all…'

Yusuke and Kuwabara still looked confused, but somewhat more relaxed. Kurama smiled easily:

'Intelligent. I haven't known that before. Then, that means that whatever Isseishin does to you, as long as you don't use the spell or know no knowledge of it, you will be safe. You won't be hurt. Tell me, Rie, are you a human from your father's side?'

'Y-yes, I am…'

'And what was your mother?'

'She was a demon, who had a much more powerful ability to foresee things than me. I inherited her power, as a demon.'

'Did you know you had this spell inside your body?'

'Why do you ask me such things? Of course I did not. Look, I'm sorry, but I have a secret to keep. I intend to keep it, alright? So, don't try and nag me with it. It won't work. I foresee what you will do next.'

'Yeah, but you don't know what we'll say next or even think next…' smiled Hiei coldly, with a mean charm. 'That's probably your greatest weakness.'

He smiled victoriously. She sat quiet on her place, as she looked at the floor. Yusuke was the one to bump:

'O-ok, Rie, you can have my bed. I'll sleep on the floor tonight. And don't worry about tomorrow. We'll do just fine, really.'

He smiled to her kindly. She looked at him and also smiled too, soon.

CHAPTER VIII:

**The Warriors Of Fire And The Aid **

'_I have often dreamt of a far-off place… where the heroes welcomed will be waiting for me… where the crowds will cheer when they see my face and a voice keeps saying this is where I'm meant to be… I can go the distance…! I will find my way, if I can be strong… when I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong… I'll go unknown roads to embrace my faith. Where that road may wonder, it will lead me to You… and the thousand years won't be worth my way, it might take a life-time but somehow I'll see it through and I won't look back, I can go the distance I'll stay untracked, no, I won't accept defeat… till I go the distance and my journey is complete!...'_

She looked at her friends from the warriors' chambers. She seemed to be alone, because no other demon participant was around. Kuwabara and Yusuke were a step forward than Kurama and Hiei, as they were studying their opponents.

Nara, the witch of the Tokochinai brothers, was a beautiful woman, of her age, with wave long, long silvery hair and an almost perfect body covered only in a few feathers, like some sort of bandages. She had no iris in her eyes, a sign which Kurama explained as being that she had too much evil in her. Her golden eyes sparkled at the sight of Hiei. She and the black-haired boy watched themselves. She smiled provocatively, but Hiei didn't seem too touched about that.

Tuotou was looking at Kurama with a satisfaction of a child who desired something which he had just found. The Tokochinai warrior licked his lips in a gesture of impatience.

'So, you're the bastards who think they're gonna win the sword as a prize?' burst Juntou smiling meanly. 'You dream of good things, bastards! But they're just dreams. The ones who are going to win the sword are us, the Tokochinai warriors! Ha, ha, ha!'

'Don't be so sure of it' said Yusuke.

'And… BEGIN!!!'

Just as Rie had thought and predicted, Nara burst on attacking both Yusuke and Kuwabara:

'Wind tunnel!'

Her spell came strongly from her right index and created some sort of tunnel, made of massive blocks of wind and tornadoes. Thus, the whip she had created was pointed straight into Yusuke's neck. Luckily, the boy jumped before the winds could strike him.

'I'll get you now!' she swore. 'Double wind tunnel!' she commanded.

Another whip of winds was born from her left index. When she united her fingers, so were the wind tunnels. Now, a massive attacking weapon, the wind tunnel was of double seize and as his mistress commanded, it attacked both Yusuke and Kuwabara.

On the other side, Tuotou drew his gigantic sword, as he watched Kurama with delight:

'Guess what this is, beauty! It's the swords of all waves… it's your death-weapon. Ha, ha, ha!'

As he laughed, he began to twist it in the air and created a circular mass of winds, in the shape of a shield. Kurama got worried, but also drew his sword and was prepared to face the warrior's attack. Suddenly, as Tuotou unleashed the shield of winds and pointed at Kurama, the warrior yelled:

'Now, brother!'

His twin, Juntou instantly jumped under his brother's legs and put his palms attached to the shield. The enormous circular mass grew higher, until it reached the level of a sphere filled with winds blowing in circles.

Tuotou looked at Kurama smiling:

'If your head gets into this, it will be blown off. So, watch it, beauty! Ha, ha, ha! Eat this!'

He got out a tiny snow-ball-seized mass of wind from the sphere and threw it towards Kurama.

Kurama got a bit scared and tried to jump aside, but the throwing was too quick. It hit him straight in his stomach. It caused him a gap of flesh taken away. As it grew deeper in such a short time, Kurama started to scream.

'KURAMA!' yelled Yusuke frightened. Suddenly, Nara caught that moment and drew her whip towards him. Hiei was about to make his attack on her. But as he jumped in the air, even with his too-fast technique, Nara managed to crack her whip in two and draw the other side upon Hiei, grabbing his neck:

'Ah-ah-ah, little punk… don't rush so fast, boy…'she laughed charmingly.

Hiei, even almost choking, looked at her ugly:

'You… b-bitch…'

'Thank you. It's the nicest compliment, coming from a guy like you. Ha, ha, ha! Now, where was I?'

She turned towards Kuwabara, just when he was about to attack her with his powerful sword:

'You stupid witch!'

'Is that so, you idiot?!'

She suddenly commanded her whips to surround Kuwabara's body and as they did that, they lifted the boy up in the air, holding him so tight that her started to growl and gnash his teeth:

'Agh! Bitch…'

She turned to Yusuke. He was still fighting against her winds, jumping up and down and often hit them away with his strong fists.

'He's too boring…' she muttered ironically and she burst 'Wind Dragon Dance!'

The winds began to crack into other tunnels and surround Yusuke just like they did with Kuwabara. But they began to move so fast, that they dizzied him up quickly and Yusuke fell on the ground as if struck by lightening.

Kurama looked at him from his place, lying on the ground, badly wounded, with his blood spread apart:

'… Yu-Yusuke… w-we're… breaking… a… ap-part…'

'More than that, handsome' smiled Juntou. 'We're gonna kill the strongest of you and resurrect him as one of ours. That way, we'll surely have a place in between the final participants. And when this is over, we'll be going home with our prize and kill the one we resurrected… ha, ha, ha!'

'B-but… how can you… do… that?'

Nara came to him, with a mean smile:

'Quite easy, boy: by sacrificing another one from yours. You think we weren't smart enough to know the dangers that occur when you try to resurrect a person? You are so dumb…'

'Oh, dear sister, don't kill him!' burst Tuotou, moaning again. 'I neeeeeeeeeed him, he's soooooooo beautiful…'

Tuotou licked his lips.

Juntou smiled to them all:

'You're toast, bastards! C'mon, Nara! You said you'd choose! Make it a good one!'

The girl looked up at Hiei, who was struggling.

'I chose him, dear brother. Pity I have to kill him. He is such a cutie. But I'm pretty damn sure he's also the strongest.'

'Yeah, yeah!' bumped Tuotou happy. 'Kill him, kill him, I don't like his face, no offense, sister dear.'

'No worries! Get on with it, Juntou!'

'Wait!!!' several people bumped from the crowd. 'You can't do that! The rules of the tournament say no resurrections, just strictly fights between powers!'

'Shut up, you bloody infants!' yelled Juntou strongly. 'All you want is blood and violence. There'll be plenty of that in a few seconds! There are _no_ rules in a tournament! Rules are meant to be broken!'

'_Guardian!!!_'

The sudden spell that was unleashed flew in the air with an incredible speed and it made the ground shake wherever it went. The ring was cracked in two, as it just aimed the winds which were holding both Hiei and Kuwabara in the air. The spell banished the winds and set them loose, as they fell on the ground.

Frightened and confused, the Tokochinai brothers turned towards the sight from where the spell had came. Nara growled:

'You! What are you doing here? This is my fight, not yours, you bitch!'

'_You broke the rules, and then I shall break them too.'_

Rie got on the ring, with an ugly look:

'_You've angered me enough! First of all, you come here with your insolent education and your despicable lying, libidinous brothers…!'_

(Her body began to pulse shortly… a great smoke emerged from the ring… it gotten higher… the twins began to tremble frightened and they even got hold one of each other as they called for their mother).

'…_second, you come here and you break the rules… furthermore, you laugh at my friends' pain and you try to turn them one against each other…!'_

(The smoke surrounded her, creating a sort of veil, which had only lasted for a few seconds. When Nara watched her the second time, she turned frightened, as she saw in front of her no more a mere hanyou-girl… but an imposing woman, dressed in a grey fur, with fangs and bones attached everywhere her body, with blood drawing markings on her cheeks, and a mask which covered her eyes in white glass, like a spider's eyes).

'… _and last of all… you called me a bitch…_'

Suddenly, Nara caught a sketched smile on her opponent's face. That drew her mad. She gathered her strengths, and said:

'Who are you now, Hanyou? A werewolf, are you?'

'_No… I'm your worst curse to be cast upon…'_

For the first time, the hanyou laughed strongly. Yusuke, Hiei and Kuwabara gathered around Kurama, with their last drop of strength, as they looked upon the imposing warrior-woman. Winds and smokes and the earth shaking had started, as a strong fear for the newcomer. The crowd hid itself protectively, not being able to understand where this creature came from.

Nara got angry and summoned:

'Great Winds of North, let me be your guidance!'

She pointed them towards the Cursed Beast.

Still, when the massive winds almost touched the Beast's face, she wiped them off with a swing of her arm, as she said:

'_Your powers are no match for mine, you insolent uneducated youkai! But my powers are by far of greater match than yours…'_

Saying that, she united her palms at her mouth in a gesture of faith. She whispered a few words which no one neither heard nor understood but as she spoke those magic words, she parted her palms, from inside of them coming the same blinding light as she had summoned for so many times. The Beast formed a huge mighty sword from that light. She took the sword in her hands and held it with incredible delicacy.

Nara backed up frightened, as she discovered that, scared to the bones, her brothers banished from the ring and they weren't to be seen anymore. She turned her alarmed look upon the Beast, while she was holding the light-sword higher than her head:

'_I never desired to be unleashed as a murdering contraption. But you and your great foully mistakes made me what I am to do at this moment. Thou shall not cry… thou shall not heal… thou_ _shall not…'_

(Her eyes opened widely).

'…_feel…' _

In that moment, as she drew the sword down, towards the witch of the Tokochinai, the Beast also called up a blinding smoke to surround both her and her enemy. For that is why no one knew what happened to the Tokochinai witch, Nara, that day. Only that they heard a great terrifying scream cut off suddenly.

After a few minutes, the great smoke withdrew itself and all that remained on the ring were the winners: Yusuke's team… and Rie Munashiu…

The crowd burst into acclaims, applauses and lots and lots of enthusiastic calls and summons and joyful sentiments.

The winners were announced.

Hiei and Kuwabara helped the others get up. Kurama was seriously injured. When they reached Rie, also lying on the floor, Yusuke vaguely opened his eyes and whispered:

'W-We should help her too… she helped us, right?'

Kuwabara took him as well. Hiei looked at the girl for a while and afterwards, got her in his arms, to take her to the nursery, along with Kurama.

CHAPTER IX:

**The Battle Of The Hanyou As What She Really Was**

'_You had and lost… the one thing. Life goes to those that are true, the regular news, over playing a song with the light around… and if you burn the road that will lead you back to him in time, I'll watch you turn to stone… he's moving on, without you… the tide breaks, you watch the stars fade, to gather you back home… I guess it's better than being alone…'_

She remembered those words, as she watched the clear blue sky, in the forest. She didn't need any nursery. She just looked at the sky, with cold tears falling from her cheeks:

'Why is that so that I was chosen for this task? I am not worthy now, nor will I ever be tomorrow or in ten years or forever… I shall never be worthy of a great task as this… no one will, after me…'

She let her face down. It started to rain again. Small drops of rain… violent and sure… a few she had seen on her feet. And then, she got her eyes upon the sky again:

'I shall not use that spell again, whatever it is. If it ever emerges again, I shall stop it. Until I know what it is, I shall not use it anymore… even if it means my death… and with my death, the decease of the world…'

She laid on the wet ground, with her face at the starry sky:

'Father… I lay upon you as I really am: a hanyou as an appalling defense card… see you soon in heaven…'

The crowd had filled the arena in a few minutes the next day. Hearing that this battle would occur between Rie Munashiu and the fourth Shichinintai brother, Isseishin, everyone wanted to see the hanyou use her great magic spell upon her opponent again.

Rie and Isseishin were already on the ring when Yusuke, Hiei and Kuwabara got in the warriors' chambers. Kurama was already there, with his seat close to the window.

'She's gonna win alright!' said Kuwabara assuring.

'No…'

All three of them looked at Kurama startling.

'What do you mean?' asked Yusuke confused.

'I believe she will no longer use that spell until she has it clear in her heart that that magic is good or bad. It is obvious that she's not a person like her brother: killing at free will and proud enough to wish for greater power. She won't do it this time. She saw that yesterday… when Nara's brothers had left her sister all alone on the battle-field… she realized in that moment that Ensatsu would have done the same thing to her if she were to hold that much power. She won't use that spell now.'

'B-but she might… she might die!' burst Yusuke frightened.

'I don't think she cares about that now…' muttered Hiei in a somewhat ironic way. 'If she's willing to win this battle with her own bare spells, then she's either mad, either wants to die.'

Kuwabara looked at him ugly:

'Shut up, Hiei. You've never had anything better to say. Just keep your thoughts to your own.'

Hiei stood quiet.

On the ring, Rie looked at her opponent. Isseishin seemed to have guessed her decision, for he burst with clear words:

'I see you don't appear to use your power in this fight? Why the sudden change? Am I too strong for you?'

She didn't change her serious look. She just took a deep breath and said:

'No… it's not that, Isseishin. I believe that winning this battle with weaker supremacies is by far the worst thing that could happen to you.'

She smiled bitterly. It made Isseishin growl.

'And… BEGIN!!!'

Isseishin didn't wait long enough. He burst in the air, saying:

'I don't talk too much, woman! I destroy!'

She closed her eyes:

'So be it, then… boy…'

'THE POWER OF THE SHICHININTAI!'

A dark light flew immediately from the demon's hands and it went straight through Rie's legs, as she jumped slightly in the air, foreseeing his hit. He attacked her again with the same spell. And again… nothing happened. She seemed too fast for him.

'You're beginning to annoy me, girlie! You haven't attacked at all. Why won't you do that?'

'I'm a defense card, remember?' she grinned and got him angry.

'Agh! Submit to this, bitch!'

He suddenly sat calm in front of her, with his eyes closed and summoned in a few weird words a sort of spell. A few seconds of silence overclouded the battle-field, as Rie waited mutely what was the spell about. Instantly, Isseishin parted his hands and drew a circle in the air, afterwards, held it in his fingers delicately. He looked at her:

'There you are, little witch. This circle is the resemblance of your sins… pity it's too small… you must have been close to a saint. Ha, ha, ha! You're probably wondering what am I going to do with this circle… you think you can't be touched by it… well, let me tell you: when Harun, the demon, told you your sins come back to you, he was right… because they do…'

He laughed meanly, as he suddenly took a small part from the circle. He drew with it a shape of a shadow. Soon, it took the form of a human being… someone for which Rie had blamed herself for most of her life: her own…

'F-father…?' she whispered petrified.

Her body startled, as she seemed trespassed by the feeling of guilt. She was the one to have found her parents all killed and slaughtered in their house. She was the one to have parted her brother from them, in order to teach to hunt, out of her own selfish pride… in a way, her father was the second indirect murder she had committed.

'That's right, child' laughed Isseishin. But no worries. Some of your demon opponents might have taken the shape of your brother… those were fake. But this time, this man is for real… and you know what his greatest power was, even as a human…'

She looked at her father with trembling eyes…

'I …'

'How the hell did he do that?' burst Kuwabara angrily.

'I don't know. But he's right. That man is the real one.'

Kurama sighed sadly.

'Who is he?' asked Yusuke.

'I don't know. No one does. But her reaction tells me she knows him too well…' explained Kurama again.

'Why don't you fight him, girl? Are you afraid of killing your own father?!'

(The boys startled. Even Hiei did so).

Isseishin laughed evilly:

'Your father has a few things to say, woman…'

She looked at him:

'F-father… I …'

'_Don't speak, Rie... I'm not my true form. He had summoned me to life… yesterday, he killed Nara's brothers and he has summoned me to fight you. I have to use that spell, my child. I have to. Only if I use it, will you know the perfection of it, the greatness of it… what you have to say as you use it. Believe me, child you shall know it when it touches your heart. Just don't hold back. Never hold back… because you have a lot to give… and an immensity to receive… don't ever let me see you cry…just let me hurt your flesh until it becomes one with your soul. Only then, will you understand your true power. That is how I understood mine…'_

She startled. Afterwards, she sketched a tired smile:

'Get on with it, then, Isseishin…'

Her father united his palms and started his whispered prayer, with his muttered words as of something pure. She also did so… afterwards, her father drew his palms apart, from which it created a blinding light. Rie looked at it. She felt somewhat strange, as if she had done that for so many times…

…she woke up in that same forest she had first saw her father use that spell… she was hiding in between some bushes. She saw her father lying in front of a large rock. His face was angry. That day, he had been cursed and mistreated for his human nature. It had always been like that: people misjudging him… it was tiring and it was a wound always fresh and opened. That day, she saw her father angry… livid… it had been the first time in her life when she had known what it would have been like for a hanyou's life among other greater kinds than her. But when her memory took her to the moment when her father would have unleashed the spell, he suddenly turned to her and smiled:

'_Come here, my child. Today, I shall teach you what I have learnt from this curse… I call it a Weaker's Wrath… it only comes to those of our kind, Rie: weak people who linger for their greatest life-task. Its powers are fed by your anger. Your frustrations, your forbidden dreams, your pains and of course, the sins of others who have fallen upon you to bear them… as you will grow older, my child, you shall know the depths of the world and its evils. That power that lies in you comes from all my human part inside of me. You bear it because you also have a human part in you… you can control it only if you shall make the difference between your anger against true evil, and the anger of your demon side against fake evil. Remember, Rie: you will only learn to summon your spell only when you have learnt the true meaning of it… it took me many years to figure that out. You are a fortuned one, my child. You have foreseen its powers long before I had…'_

As he explained, he parted from her and she felt furthered away from him somehow. Before he could turn into a shadow, she cried:

'Father… what is the word to use it…?'

'_There are no words to describe such a great power. It's inside you, Rie. Look for it, now that you have found it. Call it. It shall come…'_

… she opened her eyes. There were winds everywhere and she saw herself hidden in between walls of strong winds and blinding lights. In front of her laid her father, with his opened widely to her. She smiled, as she remembered their conversation:

'I love you, father…'

'_As I love you, my precious Guardian of The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell… you're a greater hanyou than anyone would ever speak about…'_

There was a deaf sound in the air. She didn't know what had happened with the others. But all she knew what that the winds blew off, all the smoke cleared and she saw the arena, with its crowd. Isseishin was in front of her. He held a sword in his arm. He was smiling:

'So here you are, my girlie… here you are!'

She got out a moaning whispered sound, as the sword penetrated her flesh inside her stomach; she saw her father's eyes for a few minutes. Afterwards, she looked at Isseishin smiling.

'You really didn't see, did you?' she asked muttering. Isseishin's eyes glittered.

'See what?'

'My… arm… inside your flesh…'

Isseishin dragged himself. He stopped at the end of her wrist. It was coming out from his spine. He looked at her right arm frightened and shocked. It had gone straight through his flesh, like a sword.

Afterwards he looked at her:

'Y-You… your arm… inside my… h-how could you…?'

'You helped me kill you. I got stronger, I guess. After all, I couldn't let you live. I wanted you to follow me to hell…'

Suddenly, as he yelled panicked, he drew his sword in the air and cut her hand apart, to escape her deadly weapon. She screamed, with her hand spreading against the ring, and as she backed up, pulling her arm off Isseishin's body, the demon fell on the ground without moving. The crowd was shocked. This was by far the weirdest battle they had ever witnessed.

No one said anything. She fell on her knees, as she felt dizzy and partially confused.

'Ego Victor!' she screamed.

CHAPTER X:

**The True Form Of A Weaker's Wrath**

It was as if everything in her mind was gone. Her head was empty. And still, her heart continued on beating. And when she opened her eyes, there were four shadows lying above her head.

'S-she's alive!'

'She's alive!'

The message had been transmitted several times before her head could finally depart from the ground. She got on her base a bit confused and when she tried to wipe out the sweat from her forehead, she realized that she had no longer her right hand. Her flesh had been cut off by Isseishin's sword. It laid somewhere not far away from her body.

Now she clearly saw the shadows… Yusuke helped her get up:

'You're alright, other than… that…'

He referred to her hand.

'I … g-guess…'

Hiei got to them, holding her cut hand, as if it were a toy. He didn't even smile. He didn't do anything.

'Are you going to keep this as a souvenir?' he asked, but didn't mean to be rude by it.

Kuwabara felt like hitting him in the face. She didn't. She just put her hand on its place and said:

'I'll sow it. Soon, it'll be just as good as new. Right now, I need to rest…'

'What did you actually scream before you fainted?' asked Kuwabara confused. 'It seemed something from another language.'

She smiled tired:

'Yes… yes, it was… I don't know. I heard it once, long ago… when our town was trespassed by so many servants of distant continents… I heard it so many times, I loved it. It became a sign of victory. Whenever those servants and foreign merchandisers used that expression, it meant they had finally succeeded a mission which they had longed to finish. I loved it for its significance. And today, I also have used it… because I too had overcome a mission of my own. I know now everything about that power. At least, I know now how to control it… and summon it whenever I wish…'

'R-really?' burst Kuwabara enthusiastically. 'C-Could you show me one day?'

'I think I could, Kuwabara. I will. But not today…'

She turned her look towards the remains of Isseishin.

'Today I feel too weary…'

She looked at her hand:

'… too drain…'

Suddenly, she fell unconscious in Yusuke's arms. She fell in a deep slumber.

The jury from the tournament had agree to give her a rest of only two days, in order for her wounded hand to heal a bit before her battle with - this time – two of the Shichinintai brothers, from the three that had remained.

Only that day, from the nurseries, Rie saw the three warriors, Toucan, Nimrod and Hake bury their fourth dead brother.

When she was brought in, she stood in bed long enough. But it was in her warrior nature, in her future Guarding character to be so stubborn as not to stay too long in the same place. So, after she herself sowed her hand and bandaged it, aware now by the fact that it would no longer be healed quickly because she knew now about that power, the next morning, she got out in the forest, with the boys, to hang out and relax.

'Are you sure you're ok?' asked Kurama, now feeling better. 'You've been through a lot recently. If you feel tired, you should rest.'

'Thank you for your concern, but no. I'm fine. I only needed a few hours to sleep. Now I'm back on my feet again, believe me, I'm fine…'

She smiled to them, afterwards turned her look towards Kuwabara and Yusuke who were testing their skills, and laughing, while Hiei was up in a tree, resting.

'So, you say that now you can control the power you hold' said Kurama. 'May I ask how? I mean, what made you discover everything about it. The battle only lasted for 15-20 minutes, as Yusuke said.'

Hiei dropped from his seat in the tree and went to his friend, to rest next to him, while listening to the conversation.

'I didn't count the time' she answered. 'For me it was as if there were millions of years ahead of me. I just knew, I guess. I think I knew it all along. I just couldn't open my eyes to it. Do you want me to show you what that power can do?'

Kurama looked at her worried:

'No. it might be too risky. You have to rest before your battle with the two Shichinintai brothers. Nimrod and Toucan are not to be mistaken as weak demons.'

'Do you know them well? Tell me some things about them.'

'They are very strong, when they are together. The twin brothers Tokochinai are nothing against them. I remember they used not very long ago the blood of their opponents to draw certain war-markings and drown them into an abyss of darkness. Rie, you have to be aware of their weapons. Their power grows as your blood leeks from your wound. One of them will try to hurt you. The other one will draw the markings with your blood. Thus, you are both sealed and drowned into something which most people that have survived it describe it as a terrifying experiment.'

Kurama got up worried:

'Are you sure you want to do this, Rie? You're still weak. Your wounds are not done yet. You'll die if you struggle too hard. It's a dangerous…'

'You don't understand. Once I'm started this, I'm going to finish it!'

Yusuke and Kuwabara also looked at her quietly.

'My brother got killed almost a week ago. He didn't even have a decent burial. All those demons that I fought with hated me for the mere fact that I was a hanyou, teamed up with a demon of their kind. That was a disgrace. But now they hate me even more for holding such a dreadful spiritual possession. I don't even want to think how they are going to feel when they discover that now I know how to control and summon it at my own free will. I couldn't even mourn my brother… and after several battles, during which I never one second could believe I'd survive… now you want me to give up?'

She got on her feet and went in the middle of the place where they were resting. She faced the tall trees of the forest, as the wind started to blow around her.

'I won't give up. I won't give up now. Not now, nor ever… my journey is not yet complete and it shall never be…'

'But you're all alone in this job…' said Kuwabara suddenly, with a sad voice.

She breathed deeply.

'A Guardian's life is to be alone…'

'Guardian?' asked Yusuke confused. 'Guardian for what?'

'Who are you?'

She turned her look towards Hiei, who asked that. Swiftly, Yusuke and Kuwabara backed up in a gesture of a slight protection against her. Kurama looked at her even more worried.

All she did was to draw her face down and close her eyes:

'You want to know who I am…?'

'_That sword which everyone seems to dream of possessing is no mere sword… yes, it holds power. A greater power perhaps than that of my own. It could make you the greatest of the demons… a fulfilled youkai… _

_It can also heal… deep wounds, slight wounds… heart wounds… soul wounds… scars that have longed to vanish… _

_It gives you light! The purest light! Heaven light and Hell light. All together in one. _

_Least of all, it is a rarely golden sword. Gold in my world resembles power beyond any imagination. It's the sign of gods… the sign of rich and the poor all together. The sign of light and dark, of power and weakness… of serene and wrath… it's the symbol of sound and silence… _

… _it's the sign of… everything… dead, resurrected or alive… _

_In the end… as the sword is both golden, powerful and healer of all wounds… it is also the gate to a perfect ending… an ending where everything is erased. Both demon world and human world. It is The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven… And Hell… And it is only because it possesses such great powers, that it must be held by a weaker. A life form which has to be both weak and strong… both light and dark… both healer and sorer… both demon and human… a hanyou…'_

'… and that is what a Guardian is to do. He cannot have a pack of its own for he himself does not belong to a pack. He must wonder alone, in search of that sword, until he may bring it back into his own tenure and guard it with his life… or death… so that the world could go on until its true ending…'

She let her head down, with a look of fright mixed with conceit:

'If I could have changed all of this, I would. I'd certainly start changing with what I am. But I was born in a family of Guardians. My father was one of them. I always thought my brother would succeed him. But I was chosen for this task. Therefore, I shall accomplish it. With… or without my will…'

She looked at the forest with its tall and strong trees, as she sensed the wind with a strong feeling of pride. She lifted her palms and united them, aiming for a point somewhere hidden behind the trees, in the farthest void. The wind intensified around her and it lifted her dark clothes from the ground. The dust around her feet rise in the air, creating some sort of shield of protection. In another sense, it was a sign that her powers which she summoned at that very moment were of a great intension.

Something flew backwards and it hit her cheek, slightly scarring her soft tissue. It didn't bother her. She looked straight to the trees.

'I _will_ go the distance…'

Swiftly, she closed her eyes and whispered a few words in that same weird language which she used when she summoned the spell upon Nara Tokochinai. It made the light which was born from the tips of her mixed fingers grow bigger and shake. It created a thick shield, afterwards it became a sharp javelin which penetrated the forest's trees like a deadly weapon. The earth cracked deeply, in the shape of the javelin, as if the light coming from there was too heavy and too intense not to overcome the rigidity of the ground.

The light extended and it surrounded them and other large miles of forest until it was clearly understood that Rie Munashiu was indeed the true wielder of a Weaker's Wrath. She was both weak… and strong… she was both a demon and a human. She was a hanyou…

Leaving the light to continue her journey through the forest, Rie let her arms down, with a tired look. Her wounded hand pulsed under the bandages. She held her wrist, worn-out. It was somehow trespassed by some black veins, which looked like tiny coils of ink.

_Then the jagged edge appears, through the distant clouds of tears… I'm like a bridge that was washed away; my foundations were made of clay. As my soul slides down to die… How could I lose him?_

_What did I try?_

_Bit by bit, I've realized that he was here with me; I looked into my father's eyes. _

Yusuke came to her and touched her shoulder. He smiled:

'I never doubted you were strong. I just didn't realize by now how much. I'm sure you'll win the tournament. You will gain the sword…'

Kuwabara startled. Undoubtedly, all of them did. But Kuwabara smiled too:

'Yeah, sure you will! You're the best, Rie!'

Kurama smiled wearily. Hiei didn't. His face, as usual, remained serious. But he didn't do anything else to object what Yusuke meant by what he had told Rie, about her winning the sword.

'I don't want you to back up for me or something like that…' she muttered.

'Oh, no, we won't back up, don't worry. We too will fight until the end. But from my part, at least I know now that you are the most suitable person to hold the sword in her grasp.'

Yusuke smiled:

'I'm not kidding.'

'Yahoo, Rie! You're the best!'

Kuwabara lifted her up and twisted her around, in the air, happily. She started to laugh hard, as she finally found a glimpse of true happiness, since her brother died. Yusuke started to giggle and laugh playfully around them, as Kurama smiled. Hiei didn't do anything. And when Kuwabara finally put her on her feet, she caught that cold glimpse Hiei used to give everyone. But this time, she sensed something different in that look. It was in a way… friendly.

CHAPTER XI:

**Nimrod And Toucan, The Next Of The Shichinintai Brothers**

Kuwabara was running through the forest with the feeling of concern mixed with embarrassment, as he, Kurama and Hiei and Yusuke discovered that they overslept the morning and were running late on Rie's fight against two of the Shichinintai brothers left alive.

Hiei was the luckiest of them all. He was jumping through the trees, one by one, but as a gesture of respect, he was also stopping a few times, so his friends could keep up with him.

Kurama, Kuwabara and Yusuke were putting their feet to a test. When they arrived at the stadium, the crowd was already in exaltation, screaming for more and more violence. As they crossed the arenas, in behind them, they heard the crowd jeering and laughing out:

'Look! Look at her! I thought she was good! They're killing her, they're cutting her all over the place! Ha, ha, ha!'

Kurama stopped suddenly, with a worried look on his face:

'I … I shouldn't have been late! They're killing her! I told her to be careful!'

Yusuke looked at his friend annoyed and panicked at the same time:

'N-no! They can't do that! She said she was strong! She promised she won't lose to them! She's got to win! She's got to!'

'Hey, Yusuke!' Kuwabara called him.

The boy started to run down the hall and headed for the field. Kuwabara ran after him and stopped him, just before Yusuke could reach the edge:

'Are you insane?! It's against the rules to interfere!'

'She interfered for us when we were about to loose for the Tokochinai brothers! She did! Why can't we?!'

'It's her battle, Yusuke!' bumped Hiei coldly.

Yusuke looked at him revolting:

'You can't fool me, Hiei! You just can't! you might be the strongest of us all, _but you can't fool me_! How can you stand there and do nothing? She's getting killed there, can't you see?!'

'It's her battle!'

Yusuke looked down at him, with a deep frowned look. He growled, touching Hiei on his chest with his index:

'And _you_' re one to like her more than us here…'

Hiei startled shortly.

On the battle-field, Rie had lost control. It all started from this morning. She woke up earlier, to go get prepared for the battle. She wanted to try her spell one more time, in the forest, before she could use it in combat. But as she stood there, all by herself, she didn't realize she was watched by her exact opponents, Toucan and Nimrod…

'_Should we kill her now, dear brother?...'_

'_No. revenge is sweeter when the one in cause is suffering. Look at her hand, dear Toucan. Do you see her cut? Drown in swiftly, dear brother, so she won't feel you. Just a drop from her blood and we can control her… we'll bite her into a…. a werewolf…'_

At that time, she only felt a small tremble of her wound. Nothing more… but as she entered the ring, on the battle-field, her feet began to shake, as if they didn't want her there. So, she continued her road towards her combat. And here she ended…

'There you are, little hore!' burst one of the brothers, Toucan. 'We'll have you a pretty little werewolf, to live your life this way… ha, ha, ha!'

His brother, Nimrod suddenly bit her neck with strength. Rie screamed and fell on her knees, as she looked at the sky…

'_How could I have not foreseen? But I know now… this power makes me the strongest… but it also makes me… the weakest…'_

She screamed again, as nimrod jerked his teeth from her flesh. His face turned to a man's from a wolf's that he was before and backed up, with satisfaction:

'She's in for it now, dear brother!'

Toucan smiled evilly, as he watched Rie Munashiu's body lying on the ring in agony, slightly trembling, waiting for the dirty blood to have its effect on her own veins.

Toucan looked at the crowd:

'You saw her in battle, people! You knew how powerful she is! She had killed four of our brothers! But no longer will she now! We are the Shichinintai brothers and we also have our secrets! And today, you'll witness the weakness in this little witch! For you see, we have drunk some of her blood and mixed it with one of our spells, so she could change her skin into another. Behold! She's now to become… a mere… werewolf…'

The crowd was trespassed by whispers and moans of surprise, curiosity and enthusiasm.

'Will we see her die? Will we see blood?' asked one of them.

'Yes! Yes, indeed you will…'

'A we-werewolf…' gasped Kuwabara a bit frightened. He looked at Kurama.

'Is that bad?' asked Yusuke worried.

'It is' answered Kurama concerned. 'A werewolf is of man-kind. She's going to be too weaker pray to kill for them. But until then, the process in itself is very hard to… to bear. And it's…'

Suddenly, he stopped. Like the others, he startled scared, as he first saw Rie's body get up, and scream shortly.

Toucan looked at his brother again:

'Now, dear brother… why don't you play a little game with our wolf-girl here…'

'My pleasure…'

Nimrod came to Rie's agonizing body. He delicately blew something in her mouth. It made the girl open her eyes, as if somebody had commanded her.

She closed her eyes tightly and embraced herself with her arms, crouching somewhere in the dark, Kuramaeath a rock...

'_Let me rip her'… rip her… flesh… clean flesh… to rip her… to kill her…'_

The words became some sort of wall which she could not escape. She heard them deeply in her mind and in her eyes the sight of her body covered in blood appeared, from which the werewolf was devouring insatiably, with a devilish pleasure… and her mind remained set on the image of her cadaver's look: with eyes of turbulence and filled with blood…

'_To rip her… to tear her apart…'_

'No!' she heard somewhere deep into her brain. She took her eyes aback and saw the shapes of four men at the entrance of the battle-field. One of them, who was fully dressed in black seemed to catch her interest, she didn't loose his sight… she just watched him…

She herd cries… she recognized the werewolf's cries as if she had understood them... as if she had never known a man's tongue… and in a moment, she opened her eyes in an animalistic surrounding, as if her soul belonged not to a woman, but to a wolf's and it was miss-placed… her canines sharpened… her fingers crooked and she crouched even more, so as an animal caught in a trap.

'Which is the cure?' she heard herself, but it was as if she couldn't recognize any letter, any sound, as if somebody else spoke in her place, in a foreign language.

And she felt hungry… of flesh… clean flesh, blood… cruelty… an animal instinct took over her soul. Then, suddenly, she heard a voice in her mind, clear as if it had screamed: control… control over wild…

Her eyes closed again. She started to shake…

'I'm a hanyou, a hanyou… hanyou… Hanyou… _Hanyou! Hanyou! Hanyou_!...'

Her mind was a twister. She forced her fingers to stand straight. She stood straight herself… 'Hanyou, hanyou… a hanyou…'

She yawned as if forced by something. She relaxed her arms… hanyou… hanyou… I'm a hanyou…

She felt calm, relaxed, repeating the same words as if she had sung some lyrics. She opened her eyes. They were yellow, as of rabid animal… she felt that endlessly, small drops of auburn drained through the iris, making space throughout the golden desert of her animal-eyes. They gave a true humanly color to her eyes… she felt human again… now, she saw her friend as a young man who saved her life, and not as a pail of flesh to devour. In a moment, the same words came into her mind and she whispered them sweetly:

'I… am… a… hanyou…'

'Wh-what?'

The voice came from Toucan, shocked as Nimrod was too. He saw her get up trembling of weakness, but still struggling with her wild mind.

'Sh-she c-can't d-do this… she's… it's in her blood…'

Yusuke smiled slightly:

'She truly is a Guardian…'

They watched her get up on her feet not too straight, but strong enough to keep her balance.

'T-T-Toucan…' trembled Nimrod with fear and hid behind his brother. They watched her get up in a more victorious position, as winds began to surround her in a strong shield. The ground began to shake and crack in several places.

'_Who dares disturb my slumber…? Oh, I see now… two pests who have tried to defy me… oh, how shameful for their companions… they mean nothing to the world. Nothing!!!!'_

It made the whole stadium tremble and hide. When the smoke somewhat cleared the way for people to see what was happening now on the ring, they saw a young woman, dress in purely white bandages which only covered what was to be covered. She held a light veil around her waist, which was blowing violently because of the winds that surrounded her. From her hand, sharp spines were coming out, like from a rose's delicate core. Blood drew in tiny drops on the ring already destroyed.

As it was already known to the crowd, the arena was slowly covered in a grey misty smoke. This time it also carried a strong perfume, like it was made of lead.

'_A werewolf… a werewolf is what you call neither human nor wolf… how could you mistake me for a werewolf, when I am higher than even a mere demon like you?! Fools! I am the one to win this battle! My power is mine to give to whom I please, willingly!'_

She prayed again, this time a bit louder, but still quite confusing to the people around.

'_Feel the Wrath of a Weaker's!'_

The smoke intensified and no one could see anything. But soon enough, the Shichinintai brothers screamed terrified and the crowd could see with fright a light which was born in the heart of the smoke and it rose high, to the skies, like a sharp column. It was blinding. But it only lasted for a few minutes. When the screams were cut off like somebody hadn't let them end properly, all the smoke withdrew and it revealed the sliced bodies of the two Shichinintai brothers. Their eyes were still looking at the sky, as if they had found their terror through the clouds. Rie was on her knees, still trembling.

'It's getting me… drain…' she whispered.

Everyone was quiet.

Yusuke made a step forward, to help her. But Kuwabara grabbed his shoulder:

'N-no, Yusuke…'

Suddenly, everyone startled frightened, as they heard Rie's wolf cry… she was howling. It was a long and painful moan, which expressed both her humanly painful life and her demon weakness after a long and tiring battle. Truly, she would have change who she was, if she had the power to.

Suddenly, Kurama rushed to her and grabbed her before she could make another fall on the ground. He looked at the crowd:

'She's the winner! You wanted her weak, didn't you? Well, you can't! No matter how much you wish that, you can't weaken her! She's much too strong, even when she's looking weak.'

He looked at her:

'Rie? Are you alright? Rie? Rie!'

Yusuke and Kuwabara ran to them, worried.

'What's happening?' asked Yusuke panicked. 'She's not answering? Rie, wake up! Wake up, Rie!'

'The blood must still be in her at the moment' said Kurama seriously.

'Then, is she still alive?' asked someone in the crowd.

'Of course she is! She's damn alive! Yahoo!' yelled Kuwabara enthusiastically, after checking her vivid pulse. Her heart was beating alright. It was just as Kurama said: the infected blood had small remains inside. But it was only a matter of time before she could get better.

The crowd started to cheer and scream and call her name again, as they all were glad their favorite warrior was still alive to continue one left battle before she could face her final one.

She suddenly opened her eyes, slightly tired. She saw shadows and she felt like holding one of them. She grabbed the first one she faced…

Hiei startled at her touch, he saw her face rather dirty and bruised, with her scarred eye still open and of pure blood-like. She was struggling not to cry. She looked down.

'A werewolf…' she whispered innocently and rested her head on his chest, without hesitation.

Hiei was a bit confused. But just as he was about to tell her that she should rest on him, he felt Yusuke's hand upon his shoulder:

'Hiei, let's take her home now. Get her up! C'mon!'

He got up and was just about to grab her, when Kuwabara took her faster, looking at Hiei ugly:

'_I_'ll be the one taking her now. You lead the way, Yusuke. I think that all she needs right now is a bit of rest.'

CHAPTER XII:

**When I See Their Eyes, Now I'm Living…**

'_I'm so tired of being here… suppressed by all my childish fears. And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave, cause your presence still lingers here… and it won't leave me alone, these wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real! There's just so much that time cannot erase!...'_

She was leaning against the window, looking at the rain outside. She wasn't sad nor happy. She was just bored and melancholic. Yusuke came to her:

'How are you feeling now? Is your hand better?'

'Yes, it is better, thank you. But I still feel like howling' she smiled bitterly.

Kurama came in the room:

'That's pretty normal. The dirty blood will take some time before it's perfectly erased. But don't worry, other than having a feeling of howling, nothing else will come upon you.'

'I'm going to the next match!' burst Kuwabara. 'I feel like lightening up my strength and I don't mind the rain. Who wants to come with me?'

'I do!' Rie burst. She looked at Yusuke and Kurama, who were watching her a bit worried.

'I need a walk. I need to do something, I'm getting bored. If there's nothing else to do, I'd rather go with Kuwabara and watch a battle again. I want to know who your opponent might be next.'

'Alright!' smiled Kuwabara enthusiastically. 'I'll take good care of you, Rie. Would you like me to carry you?'

'It would be best' suggested Kurama. 'I think she's still weak on her feet.'

'B-but I …' she tried to say something, but Yusuke cut in fast:

'No, no, Kurama's right. Kuwabara's going to carry you. You're not heavy at all.'

She smiled, giggling.

'You mean I'm not fat at all…' she muttered, smiling.

Kurama sniffed amused, Kuwabara started to laugh hard and Yusuke smiled, as he turned red in his cheeks.

'N-no, of course you're not' he answered.

'Well, then, we're off!' laughed Kuwabara and jerked Rie up, on his shoulders, as she burst surprised of his rapid gesture. 'Let's go, Rie!'

'Wow…' she muttered, as she was taken outside the room, with a nice high view from his shoulders. 'Hey, look at me, Kuwabara: I'm flying… ha, ha, ha!'

'You're flying like that? I'll make you fly for real!'

She was heard screaming happily, when their voices began to fade in the hall in the end. Kurama smiled tenderly:

'She needed that, I bet.'

'Yeah, me too' answered Yusuke.

Kurama looked at him with a sad look:

'You know that you can't be with her, right?'

Yusuke startled. Afterwards, he answered:

'Oh, I'm not the one to love her like that… I, a… I simply like her as a friend. I sort of see her as a sister. I know that. I just blush cause I never heard a girl talk to me that way, that's all.'

Suddenly, the door opened and Hiei came in. he looked at them surprised, as he realized that he just cut in the middle of a conversation. He smiled distantly:

'Did I miss anything?'

'Yeah, you did… a lot of things, if you don't do something about it…' mumbled Yusuke annoyed.

Hiei game him an ugly look:

'You've got something on your mind, Yusuke? Say it, don't linger on. I'm ready for a fight, you know.'

'Yeah, well, I'm sure you are. After all, you're never there to be a help when you're supposed to be.'

'Excuse me?'

'Guys, please, don't start a fight now' Kurama made a step forward. 'We're in our last fight now, please. Don't become enemies just now. We've got to stand together.'

'He's got a problem, not me' answered Hiei coldly.

'You know what's your problem, Hiei? You're too in for yourself, that's all. You never give anyone any credit. You think you're the best. Yeah, sure, you are… but maybe now you aren't anymore. Cause somebody has managed to overcome you! And that's Rie!'

Yusuke was really annoyed. You could feel that by his chest which was breathing hard and fast. Hiei was actually looking at him rather confused. Yusuke smiled cheekily:

'Good thing Rie is a girl. Not only you hate her that she's much more powerful, but you also like her! You like her, Hiei, and that's a fact. Everyone can see that. Everyone around you! And what's actually the most frustrating for you about this entire situation is that she doesn't know that and she might not share the same _ideas_. It's eating you inside, Hiei! Everyone sees it!'

'Shut up!' Hiei burst angrily.

Yusuke smiled still. He continued somewhat calmer:

'I don't know why you have to hide it. I never said anything against you, nor did I laugh of you when I figured that out. And I won't. We're a team and we stand up for each other. We respect each other, Hiei. No one would laugh of you.'

He stood quiet after that and got out the room. There was silence around, after that. Kurama bumped:

'He's right. To care for someone doesn't make you weak. It makes you even much stronger.'

Kurama also followed his friend, quietly. Hiei was left alone.

Rie looked up at the trees, while she was striding along with Kuwabara in front, as he was telling her of his family and friends, in outside the tournament. She was listening to him and occasionally she would also add some things about her own family. It was a nice conversation. Rie liked it because it reminded her about her own childhood, which she lost long ago.

It was still raining, when they had finally reached the stadium.

'Here we are!' burst Kuwabara, cheerfully. She looked at the imposing building with indifference. Kuwabara saw that.

'What's the matter, Rie?'

She stood silent. She closed her eyes. When she opened them, she felt good. She turned to Kuwabara:

'I, a… I think I'll just stride some more around here, before I come in. I want to do something first. Is that ok with you, Kuwabara?'

'OK, sure. If you promise to be ok.'

'I will, thank you.'

Kuwabara smiled and got inside the stadium, from which the crowd was now screaming for more blood and violence, as usual.

Rie turned her look towards the forest. She went at a tree, laid there and closed her eyes, to sleep. She wanted to dream about her family.

_It's been a while since I could hold my head up high… and it's been a while since I first saw you… it's been a while since I could stand on my own two feet again. And it's been a while since I could call you…_

'Why was I chosen?'

She looked at her sowed hand. It was a mere scar now. Nothing much. It had been healing for several days. Come to think of it too much, she only had seen The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell once when she was a child of a few years. She saw her father hold it up high, like a king of a great honor and pride for his empire.

She rested still under the tree, with the silence of nature and the freshness of the forest around her. She sniffed the coolness of the wind. It was relaxing. She had longed for a day like this, filled with silence and comfort.

Rie realized her situation wasn't about to have a pretty ending. Hell is often carved with good intention, as her father used to say. She had barely faced everything up until now. As a child, she learned to kill and to respond to violence with violence. She never played a kids' game before. She didn't know how to act when it came to children. She had been raised to become a warrior. When children around her were going with their parents to festivals, she'd stay home alone and train with a sword until she'd finally get a movement good.

Her childhood was like it had never been there. She didn't know what it was to be a child. Her destiny took care of that. She had grown up too fast, without her noticing that.

'No use crying over spilled milk' she said out loud, comforting. 'If my will is to be forever alone and cold, than what am I to complain about? Nothing… nothing at all…'

'You're talking to yourself now?' a voice burst and she startled.

Hiei jumped from up the tree she was resting under. He had his enigmatic smile on, which defined his seriousness. She muttered:

'Yes… I think I am. Is there anything else for me to do?'

'Stop complaining. Even when you say you don't complain, that's what you do. And Kurama told me you were going to watch the matches with Kuwabara.'

Hiei sniffed amused:

'I knew that idiot would loose you somehow…'

'No, he didn't loose me. I stood here by my own free will. I wanted to be alone.'

'Oh, I see. Well, then… I'll leave you to your moaning and self-compassion.'

He smiled meanly, as he continued his road. Suddenly, she stopped him, saying:

'My brother would have done the same. No matter how hard you try not to be alike, you still resemble my brother, you know…'

Hiei turned slightly annoyed:

'I'm not your brother, woman! Your brother was a weak bastard who used his sister to win. I don't need anyone to help me gain what I want! I just win!'

Instantly, the winds began to gather around him. His hair lifted up, as his power increased and a black smoke emerged from the ground, circling him in a protective shield. He raised his right hand, which was always covered in bandages. His clothes began to move violently from their place, because of the powerful winds.

'I'll show you my power…' he muttered.

She ignored him. She was looking at her scarred wrist:

'I wish I could howl one more time. It felt so good back then.'

Hiei calmed his power down and burst angrily:

'Are you backing up now, woman? You ignore me?'

'I don't care about your pain! You don't understand mine. No one will ever…'

'_Stop_ _complaining!_ '

Hiei called his power up and summoned it. The black smoke emerged once more from the ground and he raised his right hand. It burned soon with a dark fire, reflecting several times of a pure dark blue. He suddenly threw it far away in the forest. For a few seconds, there was silence. But soon, everything caught fire and burned to ashes in just a few minutes. It created a long gap in between the trees. It smelled of burned rotten wood and of parch in the air.

'Stop complaining… you're doing this in…'

He startled a bit frightened. She grabbed his waist in a gesture of despair and held it tight, as she started to cry.

_Heal me from all this sorrow… as I let you go, I will find my way, I will sacrifice to the blinding day when I see your eyes… now I'm living in your afterglow… here I am, lost in the ashes of time but who wants tomorrow? In between the longing to hold you again, I'm caught in your shadow, I'm loosing control… my mind drifts away, and we only have today…_

And as her cries were heard in the silence of the forest, something happened. She started to scream and moan, as she cried. The winds intensified. The dust rose from the ground and surrounded them. Hiei looked around confused. The dust circled them in a rapid twister. The ground shook. The trees ruffled, as the winds blew harder. There was a light coming from under the ground they were sitting on. And suddenly, Hiei looked to his right and startled harder. There was a huge shield of black smoke, coming from the dust and the strong winds around them. It created some sort of wall which couldn't be passed. Suddenly, it took the shape of a gate. A dark, lead gate which opened slightly and silently. Through it there was a large gap, an abyss. And there were terrifying screams coming from it.

The smell of blood and violence all together… the smell of death and the sound of torture and pain. It seemed to have sucked everything in its gap, because the winds intensified so hard, Hiei couldn't even put his feet to stand still. His blouse gave up and ripped off his skin, setting his flesh loose. Suddenly, he startled…

'_Thou shall not open now! Guardian!' _

He looked at her with surprise. Rie was no longer the girl with her ruffled thin long hair held in a low tail, with dark clothes on. This time, the woman next to him was beautiful, with brightly red eyes, with tears of blood. Her face was stiff and cold, with a white allure. Her white silvery hair glowed, with a crown of spines, which torn her forehead with scars.

Everything seemed to calm at her command. The gate closed and withdrew with the smoke which vanished easily. She returned to Rie, as the winds start to calm down as well.

In the end, everything returned to the way it was. She let her head down with a sad and pale look.

'This is me now… just a hanyou… hm!' she sniffed bitterly.

Suddenly, she looked up at him:

'Don't worry. I was about to open the Gates of Hell, as I cried for my sorrows. But now I no longer shall complain. I promise you that, Hiei…'

She looked down again:

'Forgive me…'

Hiei returned to his cold look:

'I see… alright then, you're forgiven, if you wish to be forgiven by me.'

She didn't do anything. She remained as she was, silent and looking down. But after a few seconds, during which Hiei sniffed again bitterly and turned to leave, she raised her head and looked to the clear road which was made by his powers.

'You can't measure mine…' she sniffed. 'You know that, don't you?'

He turned slightly, with his look over his shoulder:

'We'll see about that. We'll fight one day and you'll see then.'

He tried to leave again. This time, she grabbed his shoulder:

'Hiei… I don't want to fight you… not you nor Yusuke, not Kuwabara nor Kurama… neither…'

'That's because you're afraid!'

'No… that's because I care about you.'

He startled. And turned his look towards hers. Her red eyes were glowing innocently. She drew a tender smile, afterwards giggled. Suddenly, she kissed him delicately on his cheek.

'I know we'll fight one day. But by then, I'll give up on you. I won't be the one to use a Weaker's Wrath on you. You'll be the one to weaken me…'

This time, she turned to leave. But as she drew her body away from him, he grabbed her hand that wasn't wounded and pulled her towards him. He surrounded her skinny waist with one arm and kissed her firmly. It was a gesture which scared Rie because it was for the first time and she felt embarrassed and confused. She looked into his eyes, as well as he did so too. Only, he seemed sure of what he was doing. She felt like fainting.

After a few seconds, Hiei let go of her, with his cold look and said:

'I'll see you fight us, I'm sure of that…'

He jumped in the trees and vanished, leaving her alone and confused of his gesture.

CHAPTER XIII:

**A Feeling Which Divides**

Rie was returning from her walk in the forest. It was late at night, when she decided to return to the hotel. She had been silent all afternoon, but not because she had a constant feeling of melancholy. But simply because she didn't feel like saying anything at all.

It was a pleasant evening and she loved the cool air which the night had comforted her with. When she reached the entrance of the hotel, she noticed, probably for the first time since her brother had left the world of those living, the bar in which she wasn't allowed yet to be in.

She didn't think of coming in. but it was one of the things which she had only discovered these days. The lights were one and there was some music coming from inside. The demons and other people must have had a lot of fun. She was sure her friends weren't there. Yusuke often told her that they liked the warmth of their apartment and played cards. She felt like playing cards…

She was about to come inside the hotel, when somebody grabbed her shoulder:

'Hey, you!'

She slightly got scared. As she realized a few days ago, her Weaker's Wrath had made her loose some of her skills as a demon. She no longer could foresee the movements of people around her now. That is why she got scared when the demon jerked her and hit her back against the wall:

'Listen to me, hore!'

He grabbed her neck in a firm grip. He raised her high, as she startled and tried desperately to set her neck free and breathe normally. She couldn't even see the demon with his face. He smelled of alcohol and a strong perfume of drugs or narcotics. Fortunately, he was too drunk to even hold her up for 5 minutes, so he let go of her neck, as he fell on the ground.

She remained stiff, leaning against the wall. She looked in the void, as she slipped down to the ground:

'How could I win this last battle…? I am so tired… I won't win this time. I was so confident… what would become of the world, if I die…? If I die, all those who are dear to me will die…'

She looked down at the poor drunk demon:

'Everyone will die… once Heaven's gates will open, Hell will be unleashed on earth. Why do you think a Guardian was born? It was always born… from generation to generation… and it shall never be of demon kind… because it would not be the just and righteous thing.'

Suddenly, she hit the demon with her leg, bursting annoyed:

'You understand?! No one will be above me if I win. If I win, I'll be the Guardian! The one to guard the world from chaos! You can't call me hore! Why should you? You have no right! No right, you hear me?!'

She hit him again. Her eyes caught the glimpse of a demon's in a true form. She felt strong now. A few minutes later, after she started to breathe hard and deep, like someone had stopped her breath for the past few seconds, she let her head down and whispered:

'I was about to unleash Hell itself back then… when I was with Hiei… that's because I am one with both the gates of Heaven and the gates of Hell. My sorrows are other keys to Hell. My pleasures are other keys to Heaven. But only if those are of strong amount…'

The demon slightly opened his eyes and mumbled something, but soon fell asleep again. She sighed:

'Oh… I should probably go now. I need some rest. Tomorrow, it's going to be a hard day… tomorrow it's my last battle against the Shichinintai. Hake is the last one of them. But first, I must speak to Kurama about him. He surely has to know some things about Hake.'

Just as she would assume, the boys were playing cards. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama were gathered around a table, each sitting on a couch and on an armchair, playing a relaxing game of cards. Hiei was watching the rain quietly, with his usual cold face.

She knocked first, before Yusuke could open the door and let her in:

'Oh, hi, Rie! You care to join us for a game of cards?'

'Yeah, Rie, c'mon!' burst Kuwabara happily.

'Oh, thank you, I shall. I feel like playing cards with you.'

She smiled and took a seat next to Kurama, as the cards were passed on by Kuwabara. Kurama looked at Hiei:

'Are you sure you don't want to join us? This is fun!'

Hiei sniffed disgusted and ignored them. Rie watched him for a while, until the game started.

After a few minutes, Kurama burst:

'So, how are your wounds so far? Have they healed better?'

'Hm, I still have the feeling of howling now and then…'

'Well, make sure you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. They contain vitamins which erase the dirt in the blood.'

'I will, thank you, Kurama. By the way, who will you be fighting tomorrow?'

'None' said Yusuke a bit sad. 'The guys we were fighting, the Tsuminai team was caught stealing last night, in the pub under the hotel. It seemed they ahd been stealing several things from other demons throughout the tournament. They've been disqualified.'

'Yeah' continued Kuwabara. 'It's been decided that we are the ones to somehow win this battle against them. I wanted to kick some asses, but even so, it's for the best. We're higher now with another level. You'll be fighting Hake tomorrow, right, Rie?'

'Yes, that's right… the last of the Shichinintai.'

She looked at Kurama seriously:

'Do you know anything about him, Kurama?'

'I only know that he's the oldest. This makes him the strongest from the Shichinintai. But I couldn't tell you what his skill is. On a large scale, it's too difficult, because each Shichinintai has his own strength which cannot be measured easily. Before reaching him, you had to pass his brothers, which was quite difficult, until you came along. That's why I cannot pronounce myself on what kind of magic he posses and how high the risks are.'

'I see' she let her face down.

'You shouldn't worry' said Yusuke, smiling encouraging. 'You've won every time. This should be also a winning part for you.'

'I don't know… somehow, I feel it's not that easy, as it was before. I feel he'll be much stronger than I should believe he is.'

'Well, we'll be there for you no matter what!' smiled Kuwabara pleasantly. Yusuke and Kurama did so too.

She watched them with a calm smile.

'H-how did we get so close one to another? We barely knew each other at the beginning of this tournament' she burst.

'Well, I suppose you and your brother, as the levels grew higher, you two became much more outgoing' Kurama watched her. 'That's the only explanation I could give you.'

'Besides' included Kuwabara, 'you're too a nice girl not to be observed.'

Suddenly, she let her head down and Kurama figured out something special. He looked intensely at Yusuke and burst:

'Well, I'd better go check the program for tomorrow evening. It's hard if you don't keep up with your battles' he smiled and got up.

Yusuke also stood up and threw Kuwabara a secretly connivance look, as he said as well:

'I'm coming with you, Kurama. I too have to check something up.'

'Y-yeah…' mumbled Kuwabara still confused. But as Kurama made him a sign concerning Hiei and Rie, he figured out fast and added: 'I'm a bit hungry. I wanna see if the bar's still open for a snack. Rie, you want something? The treat's on me.'

'Oh, no, thank you, Kuwabara. Have fun you three. I'll stay a bit here afterwards, I'll go to my room too.'

'You can stay how long you want' smiled Kurama and closed the door behind them.

They left both Hiei and Rie in silence.

She didn't say anything. She stood silent on the couch, playing with the cards all by herself alone, for the next few minutes.

'Punks…' muttered Hiei all of a sudden, not moving from his place.

She raised her gaze upon him, confused:

'P-punks…? Why do you call them like so?'

'They think something will happen if we're left alone. As if something had happened before' he sniffed ironically.

She startled rather unpleased by his last words. She muttered shyly:

'W-well, something did happen…'

'What?' he asked coldly.

'Y-you kissed me… this afternoon…'

'Oh, that! That was nothing! It was something which had no effect on me.'

He got away from his seat, sniffing disgusted:

'I'm so bored. And you should get some rest, as you said. You should go to your room and sleep there. Unlike me, you have a battle tomorrow. You don't want to loose just now, do you?'

His cold way of speaking was annoying her. But she was determined not to give up in front of her feelings. So, she was nothing to him. Not even a friend…?

'Do you actually care about _anybody_ in this world?' she burst whispering annoyed.

'No. Just myself maybe. I help when I have to help and I ignore when I have to ignore. It's as simple as that… unlike you, who seems to enjoy suffering on behalf of mostly everybody. Which is stressing, on my opinion.'

'Oh, I see…' she muttered this time, miserable. 'On this you're right. You're always right, it seems, when it comes to me.'

'I suppose you're predictable. Go home and get some sleep. You'll skip us of idealistic conversations.'

She got on her feet with a depressed look on her face. He was still looking at the window, when she opened the door to get out. Suddenly, she felt like saying it, and not because she wanted to say it, in absence of ever saying it before. But because she actually felt it.

'Hiei?'

There was no answer to her call…

'I love you…'

_In the clothes, all the graves… I'll stay if you go away. Concrete, tall as the sky, movement passing me by. _

_And you blush, what a rush…! _

_A reminisce, cold crush... next door, ear to the wall. Alter the touch and live for the call…_

_I wish, I wish… I wish it was all that easy…. I wish, I wish it was all that easy…_

Hiei startled. And not because of her slamming the door. But for the reason that she had said something which had confused him into his core. He had not expected such a hit from such a life form. It seemed harder than even a bruising strike.

CHAPTER XIV:

**Memories, They Keep Coming Through… **

She was running. And it wasn't a dream. She was rushing fast to the stadium, for she had woken up a bit late and she only had a few minutes before her own battle would begin. How could she had fallen into such a deep sleep? Simply because she dreamt about pleasant moments in her life. Her father, the brother, her mother… her life and its moments of joy. Even thought they might have been counted and too few.

The bad part in all of this was that somehow, Rie felt like she was tired still, like her muscles wouldn't handle any more spells or wounds. Not few were the moments when she had fallen on her knees and rip off her dress. When she got on the battle-field, there was a man on the ring, who must have been the last of the Shichinintai, Hake.

She got on the ring and stopped, Kuramading over to rest on her feet and take her normal breathing back. She didn't even look too well at her opponent. Something was strange about her: she felt strangely weak and tired. Her face was all pale, she hadn't eaten anything for the past few days ad all her body was covered in wounds, some of them still incompletely healed. And yet, here she was, with her last combat upon her, covered in a black dress, with a white veil, in memory for her dead brother, her hair caught in the back in a low tail and a white skin, in contrast with her clothes. Her face, as beautiful as it was, held her red-blood eyes, widely open, but with the sort of mature sharpness which no maiden had possessed and hadn't driven men mad.

She looked even more beautiful, as her hands touched her scarred wrist and rubbed it delicately.

'You grew… Rie…'

She startled frightened. She recognized that voice from somewhere… it belonged to a man's long ago, a man who loved her mother secretly, and was the at most shoulder her father could ever laid his hand upon. Her brother had been trained by this man, in the skills of war. This man had also kept The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell in his own hands, while her father battled far away, as she was a baby. She knew this man just by the sound of his voice. She grew with him not only when her parents were alive. But also in her heart and mind… and soul…

She looked up frightened and this time, saw her opponent.

Hake smiled tenderly:

'Hello, Rie… long time, no see…'

'Se-Senpai…'

From the warrior's chambers, Yusuke and Kuwabara looked at the man frowningly.

'Hey, it seems like Rie knows him!' burst Kuwabara confused.

'Yeah. He's smiling…' muttered Yusuke. Secretly, he looked at Hiei, next to him.

Suddenly, Kurama bumped:

'How could I have not recognized him?! Yes, of course! It's Hake! Ninja Master Hake. He's the one to posses the most powerful skills in the art of war. He trained some of the best warriors the world has ever witnessed! But could it be that he had joined such felons like the Shichinintai brothers…?'

'Something tells me that it's because of him, the Shichinintai were born in the first place…' grumbled Yusuke, looking at their friend on her ring, with seriousness.

Hiei didn't say anything. He was just watching Hake. And occasionally, Rie. But when it came to her, he only watched her eyes.

The girl watched her opponent with frightened eyes:

'Y-you! W-why you? Of all the fighters in the…?! H-how could it be that you've joined the…?! Why are you one of the Shichinintai?!'

'Because _I_ have created the Shichinintai! You think those pests would have lasted for more than how much they lasted, if it hadn't been for me?! I dare say you underestiKuwabara me, Rie! But let me affirm that you have grown up into a fine woman, girl… I've always watched you closely, even as a child that you were… there was something about you…'

He sniffed and looked at her frowningly. He was a beautiful man, with a long blond hair, and purely blue eyes, a well-built body and he was dressed as a ninja, in dark colors.

'I never found in Ensatsu what I seemed to had found in you. You had something special… as a hanyou, I thought that was because of what you are. But it wasn't true… I followed you that day… as you followed you father… I knew about what he had to do to fulfill that spell. In the end, I was the one to teach him to have patience and trust himself in finding the right moment to understand that spell in its own way of speaking…'

He suddenly drew out a mighty sword from his left side of his back. He raised up aggressively.

'I knew about the Weaker's Wrath! He had told me all about it, after he himself understood it. I knew it. But I couldn't understand why you also were of such an interest for it. Your brother seemed to have been blind every time your father used it unwillingly. Soon, it came to me in my mind that maybe it wasn't your brother to be the chosen one for the protection of The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell…'

He looked at her intensely, as Rie got scared and crouched on her knees. Somehow, she felt much more tired now than before. She felt something in the air which seemed to gather all her strength away from her body. And through her eyes, she saw that in this battle, she would be for the first time until the ending of it, Rie Munashiu, a simple Hanyou. Not a Guardian for The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell…

'… it was you, Rie… and I knew that from the day I raped your mother and killed your father and dishonored your family with all its powers and its mission…'

He smiled for the first time evilly. Her eyes trembled. She remembered that day… her burning house… her father's burnt corpse… her mother's raped and violently bruised body… a mission which had failed to be accomplish… she grew angrier:

'You're the one to have killed my family! My father trusted you! My mother loved you! Traitor!'

'Traitor, is it, my dear? Well, maybe… but the years I've taught Ensatsu have not failed me. He became a good warrior. Enough to train you too. But he had done wise not to teach you one last lesson: how to tire your enemy… for it is a ninja's greatest power to withdraw his opponent's powers through his eyes. As you watched me, your eyes fixed on mine, I have sucked part of your strength. Now, you are too tired to continue your battle. And as much as I hate doing this, Rie… I shall be the one to win this battle now…'

She startled scared. Up, in the warriors' chambers, her friends startled too, as frightened as she was.

'Today, you shall witness the true power of Weaker's Wrath, Rie… only the victim will be yourself…'

Hake gathered his palms together and closed his eyes. He whispered the same sophisticated words she had always used to summon the powerful spell. Meanwhile, Rie searched for something to protect her. She could not find anything. There was silence around. Soon, the winds started to blow harder and harder, as Hake's spell was starting to have its effect. The smoke raised from the ground… it surrounded the ring, like a high shield.

And as it grew higher, there were electric contacts appearing several times, like thunders would have gathered as well, this time. Rie felt weaker and weaker. She fell on her knees, as she saw everything fading in a deep and impenetrable mist. In front of her now no more laid the same Hake she knew. It was a taller one, a stronger one… a much more invincible one…

His eyes watched with a terrible evilness:

'_Your days… I have counted them since you were born… I knew that one day there would be a successor for your father's leadership. I knew somehow that your strength would in the end be the perfect one to measure mine and that it would defeat it. I had known it all along. But I should have done this long ago, Rie… not after ten years of lingering…'_

He drew a sword from his blinding light, and it became to him much bigger than the one he held before. Rie covered her body, as she got even more frightened than before.

'_Face your own death, hanyou… and with you, the death of many others after…' _

The ground shook hard. The winds blew harder and Hake drew his sword down, with incredible light of fire.

'_Stop it!_' she cried suddenly.

Suddenly, a dark whip of fire flew straight into the smoke shield and penetrated it. It stopped and curved around Hake's sword. The man got confused, as he saw his weapon shake. He suddenly dropped it, screaming of being burnt. The sword fell on the ground, red as a flame, almost melting from the intense fire the spell had held.

Rie looked at it. When the smoke withdrew back to where it had come from, the crowd screamed of fright, as they saw a half burnt Hake, with his flesh still holding fire. He still wasn't screaming. He got up and rushed to Rie. He grabbed her neck and heaved her higher than his head, as he growled furiously:

'Listen to me, little hore! Never have I seen such a power… you know why that damn spell penetrated my Weaker's Wrath? Because I'm not the perfect one to have summoned it. A power such as the one you truly posses would never have left any kind of spell, no matter how strong, to interfere between it and its intended destination. It is a straight forward power… but believe me, child, you are in no position to summon it now… you… are… too… weak…'

He grinned. That was the last thing he would have ever done…

Her anger grew harder inside. It ate her alive. It ate her core, her heart and her mind. She became stiff. When she looked down at him, she had not red eyes… but golden ones. Glittering blindingly, they almost seemed like jewels. For that fact, Hake became terrified. He let her go, backing up frightened:

'Oh, no… I know this… this is the true… the true…!'

'… the true Weaker's Wrath… boy…'

She no longer prayed with her hands. She called the spell in her own way, not screaming but whispering the words deeply. The winds took the color of darkness; the sky gathered his clouds to form a shield of black magic. There were at times twisters that created columns of violent winds, which blew most of the arenas away.

The crowd screaming frightened and running for its life… hake fell on his knees, this time small and insignificant, with his heart beating of a great fear or his opponent now. Rie lifted herself as an imposing warrior, with armor of gold upon her, with sparkling gold eyes and an iron mask which held the words every warrior holds on his day of revenge…

_Vengeance is often considered as a small amount of evil… but it is merely its beginning…_

'_My gold dust in my eyes shall not reform into rain again, boy! This time, no more for you or any of those who dare defy my power. The re is only one Weaker, for there is only one Sword… and it's that Weaker who holds the ultiKuwabara power of his own Wrath. Because it is his to bear for as long as he wishes… you should have tried to know that by now…'_

She suddenly looked at the skies:

'It is not me who murders you… it was your own pride which angered my wrath… now feel it under your deepest core… boy!'

The winds began to lift the dust once more. The shield which had been formed by the smokes arose again.

This time, they circled the ring with the at most intensity, as people in the arena were covering their heads and bodies to protect themselves from the twisters…

From the warriors' chambers, Yusuke and his friends looked at the battle frightened.

'So this is the true power of her own…' whispered Kurama. His friends looked at him, but none of them said anything.

The ground shook deeply. This time, it was so powerful that even Yusuke and his friends had to hold firmly of something.

The ring cracked so hard, it made a large gap under the earth. The Weaker watched Hake for the last time:

'_It is not me that shall do all of these… but I have a task to fulfill. And I shall fulfill it to the widest…_'

'NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

There was a major blast in the air, as the entire nature phenomena gathered in the center of the ring, where Hake was standing. The twisters got together, the ground shook harder there and it cracked deeper, the smoke formed a tough and intense barrier… everything had gotten attracted by that particular spot, as being the one with the strongest spiritual power…

It only lasted for a few minutes. After ten had passed, everything calmed down, leaving only dirt around, smoke which came from the fires around the ring and a girl on the stage, looking down confused and pretty bad hurt…

'RIE!!!!!' Yusuke called and ran towards the stage. His friends followed him.

The crowd looked around to see if everything was back to normal. When they finally figured that out, they drew their eyes down, to the winner of this battle. They cheers and screamed enthusiastically, calling the name of their favorite and most powerful warrior: Rie Munashiu!

Yusuke and Kuwabara got there first. Yusuke caught her before she could fall on the ground.

'Rie… stand still, we'll help you now… this time, it's over…' Yusuke whispered worried. Kurama came next to him:

'She should be extremely tired. A spell like that could tire anyone…'

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and whispered:

'Th-the black fire… I've seen it before…'

'Yes, of course you have…' smiled Kurama. 'It belongs to Hiei… he's the one to have helped you in that moment…'

He turned and backed up so he could make room for her sight to catch Hiei's, at the entrance to the battle-field. He had his usual cold, frowning look, as she saw it. But Rie was too tired to ever say anything else. She fell on the ground at the end of her strengths. This time, she would have slept longer than usual…

CHAPTER XV:

**The Greatest Decision Is The Best**

She opened her eyes. She was tired and too sleepy, but she did that because she considered she had overslept the day. Indeed. Now, it was night. It must have been late at night. She gazed upon the wide opened window, as she saw light on the other side of her room.

She was no longer at the nurseries. She knew this room. It was…

Suddenly, Yusuke came inside:

'Oh, Rie! I see you've waken up. Are you alright? How are you feeling?'

'I'm… pretty dizzy… still. Where are the others?'

'Well, Kuwabara and Kurama are playing cards again. In the living room. This is our bedroom. A bit messy, I know. But it was the best thing we had for you. Nothing could be done at the nurseries. It was filled with patients.'

Yusuke looked down somewhat tired.

'Was it because of my power?' she muttered sadly.

'Well… in a way, yeah. But don't worry. From what I've heard, nobody was badly hurt. Just a few scars, there and here… nothing much… the important thing is that you're alive and that's perfect.'

She didn't look happy about that. She looked outside:

'We shall have to fight each other now, Yusuke. I don't think that's good…'

Yusuke startled. Afterwards, he also looked in the void sadly:

'Yeah, well… that's that, I suppose. But it was worth it until now, at least. We found a good friend in you. And that's the best thing!'

She turned to him with a scared look. Yusuke was smiling to her kindly.

'Oh, Yusuke!' she cried suddenly. 'You're the best people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. I don't want to fight you and win. I cannot use my power against you! I can't!'

'But you have to…' interfered Kurama, while coming inside. Kuwabara was next to him.

'Yeah' he said too. 'You have to win the sword. It's yours to gain. And the only way to gain it is for you to fight us and win.'

'But I don't want to kill you!'

'Yeah… but think of all the people you'll save, doing that!' smiled Kurama. 'Life's fast with us. We would be killed in battles in the end, if we are to face the truth. Best if we die killed by you. You're a good girl. You've been the best friend we ever had too.'

In that moment, Hiei got with them and her eyes met his. Rapidly, she turned her look away:

'I cannot do this. It's not fair!'

'Well, what's fair doesn't matter here, now, Rie' said Yusuke. 'I'm glad of my life so far. I only wished I could say goodbye to someone very dear to me… but if not so, then otherwise it's still fine with me.'

'Me too' smiled Kuwabara.

'You sacrifice the lives of few to safe the lives of millions' explained Kurama. It's simple. Tomorrow, you'll fight us and you shall gain. The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell will be yours again and thus, all the earth's safety will be back in its place. It'll be better this way…'

'Get some rest, while you can' added Kuwabara. 'I'll fix you something up, so you can eat.'

'I'll help!' burst Yusuke happily and left them.

Kurama was still smiling to her. He caressed her hair, as he said:

'Don't worry, Rie… there's nothing here to be blamed. Duty above friendship!'

He left her also. She was still looking out the window, silently, when Hiei decided to stop looking at her and also leave her be. But just as he was about to close the door, he heard her whisper:

'Thank you for helping me… even though I didn't know why you had done that…'

He stopped and without turning his face to her, he came back in the room and closed the door, saying:

'You said something to me the other day… that determined me to help you. Anyway, that bastard was pissing me off. In case you haven't noticed, I was actually aiming for his head. But I missed. The barrier was too strong to penetrate as it was.'

'You have a strong hand. Your power is also strong, Hiei…'

'Tell me something new' he muttered indifferently. 'If you no longer want to say anything else, than I shall leave. I have some things to attend to at this very…'

'Please, come here. I want to whisper something to you. It's very important, Hiei…'

He sniffed a bit annoyed, but did as she asked him. He came to her bed and, with his hands in his pockets, he watched her indifferently. She put her feet on the ground. Suddenly, she grabbed his neck and hugged him. Her gesture made him startle surprised. It also made her loose some of her balance and almost collapse. He took her in one arm, preventing her form falling.

She turned slightly to her left, bashing closely to his neck. He was taller than her. She turned red in her cheeks, as she whispered innocently:

'S-sorry... Hiei… I didn't mean to fall… I just wanted to… t-to hug you…'

'What was it you wanted to tell me?' he asked coldly.

'I … I wanted you to know that… you should have left that man… to kill me…'

He startled again and this time looked at her:

'You must be insane! Weren't you the one to scream loud and clear that you're the guardian of that damn sword?! Now, after driving us crazy about you having to stay alive so the world won't die with you, now you're telling I did wrong to help you back then? Ha, ha, ha! What a good joke!'

He suddenly, started to laugh really hard and that disturbed her heart. She felt really hurt by his remark and the fact that he found that funny. She already felt embarrassed to be held by him with one arm (it reminded her of that moment when he had kissed her in the forest), but now she felt hurt.

She let her head down, as she whispered:

'You're so… rude…'

'I'm rude?! Look at you! Your friends are willing to die for your duty to be fulfilled and I'm rude?! That's a good one! Listen here, woman: if you start backing up just one, when the whole world has reformed itself by what your duty must sacrifice, then you're the one who's much more than just _rude_! '

He threw her on the bed. She bumped crying:

'I won't kill you!'

'Suit yourself! Just know it already: the world doesn't change by how you want it to be changed!'

He turned his back against her, to leave. Suddenly, she jumped from her bed and grabbed his waist desperately:

'Don't you understand?! You're all I have! I used to have much more at the beginning. But no longer now. What I already had, I lost it a long time ago. I don't want to loose what I have just found now! I'm prepared to sacrifice something for it! If the world changes, I can change!'

He looked down, silently.

'I won't fight you' she whispered.

Rie let go of him, as she backed up and took her seat back on the bed.

'I won't… I won't use my power against you. I'll fight as I am tomorrow: a hanyou who only plays as a defense card. Not even that anymore. If so, I'll die. But I will not kill what I have just found best in this journey I start walking on.'

She got up:

'I won't!'

Suddenly, she startled, as Hiei swiftly turned to her and grabbing her arm, he jerked her towards him. He rapidly snatched her with his arm and kissed her firmly on the lips.

She had realized only just now that Hiei hadn't any blouse on him. So, she felt embarrassed to even touch his flesh. She remained scared and confused in his arms, just like the first time he had kissed her. But her confusion mixed shortly with her tired body and so, in just a few seconds, she had collapsed on her feet again and this time, accidentally grabbed him by his naked shoulders. Her fingers trembled, but remained as they were… shortly after, she embraced his neck delicately and fell warm in his arm.

Kurama and Yusuke were looking at them from outside the window. None of them seemed glad.

'I'm so sorry…' muttered Yusuke. 'If life had been different to them…'

'Yes, you're right, Yusuke… none of us, in the end, is ok with what we have to do. Especially Hiei…'

The morning had just broken when the boys were heading for the stadium. Everyone was there and as they got on the field, they waited because Rie seemed to be running late.

'She'll be here, I suppose…' muttered Kurama to himself, as they waited for another 20 minutes. The tournament might have begun until now. The people became impatient:

'What's going on? Why isn't she here?'

Yusuke looked at his friends:

'What do you suppose happened to her? She never was this late.'

'Hey, they're sending someone to check up on her!' burst Kuwabara worried.

He looked at Hiei ugly afterwards:

'Did you tell her anything bad yesterday?'

'Me? Why me?'

'You were the last one to remain with her alone!'

Kurama got between them before the situation could have become serious:

'Stop it, you two! Kuwabara, calm down. Hiei didn't say anything bad to Rie yesterday. Believe me!'

Suddenly, Hiei startled and looked at Kurama and Yusuke.

'Y-you know what happened yesterday?' he asked sort of embarrassed, although Yusuke couldn't figure that out because Hiei must have hidden his feeling pretty well at that moment.

The boy answered, shrugging his shoulders:

'Well, yeah… we saw it through the window, from outside. Don't worry, nobody knows.'

He wanted to blink an eye, but then he thought it wasn't appropriate to do that to Hiei.

They all stood quiet for the next minutes, as the crowd grew more and more impatient.

Soon, the messenger who was sent to find out what had happened to Rie and why was she running late, made his presence to the ring. He screamed loud and clear:

'She's gone!'

'Gone?!'

Rumors trespassed the people in the arena, and Yusuke and his friends startled confused.

'G-gone?!' burst Kuwabara. 'H-how come? Why?!'

'What do you mean _gone_?' Yusuke asked the messenger.

The boy looked at him worried:

'I went to her room and called her name, but nobody answered. And I checked the other rooms, but there was no one there. I called her in the forest: nothing. Then, somebody, the manager of that hotel told me she had just checked out first thing in this morning. He said she didn't tell him where she went. But she's gone. She left!'

Yusuke looked at the others:

'B-but that means that she's…'

'…disqualified…' continued Kuwabara still confused. 'It cannot be! She's fooling around! She didn't give up until now! She didn't!'

'I also found this attached to your door' added the messenger and gave Kurama a piece of paper. There was a message written on it. Kurama's friends gathered around him, under the jeers and the swears coming from the annoyed crowd, around them.

Kurama read the message aloud. It was surely Rie's hand-writing. He sniffed tired and then, added a short smile. Yusuke saw him and burst worried:

'Why are you smiling? What does it say?'

'It says she trusts us… it says…'

_This time it'll be friendship above duty_

They all startled. Hiei was the one to look up in the sky. There were a lot of annoying screams and calls around, before the jury could finally announce the winners of this battle, and last but not least, the winners of this tournament and the final owners of The Golden Sword.

THE END

_**Epilogue**_

He had finally reached the mountain's top. It was a beautiful place. The green grass was cooling under the warm blowing wind. Summer had set its true powers upon this land to its fullest.

The sun was creeping from time to time between the top of the trees, warming their roots with a lot of light and purity.

The river was pouring through the calm valley. The mountain was a true form of nature's beauties.

He finally climbed the last of the mountain's planes. Now, much higher to the skies, he looked down, in between the inside of the mountain and saw a small village.

Children were playing around, screaming, yelling, joking, giggling. The women were somewhere, taking care of their homes and animals. Men were fixing their lands. Everything was a happy moment of living.

He came down easily, as the houses he saw before didn't change their appearance too much, when he came close to them. On the contrary, they were small cottages, with their owners around. This seemed the portrait of a perfect home village.

As he came with his calm appearance, when people met his eyes, they were smiling and greeting him with joy and welcoming him to their humble town. The children watched him confused and yet very intrigued by his presence.

Suddenly, he stopped at the end of the village, near a small cottage. In front of its door, the owner, a small old man was sitting on a tiny chair, watching his grand-children playing around the river.

He came to the old man:

'Hey, you! Could you tell me where The Guardian lives?'

'What guardian, boy?' asked the old man senile.

'The Guardian of The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell. This is his village.'

'No, it's not, boy…'

He startled when the old man said that. He had traveled two years to find it, and when he had thought his mission had come to an ending, to an answer, all had been in vain. He was about to turn back…

'It's not, boy… because The Guardian is not a _he_… it's a _she_!' answered the old man a bit amused. 'Her place is high, on that hill, boy. You seem a nice lad, boy. Are you here on business or just passing by like some sort of traveler? Because She has no intention of pilgrim-guidance.'

'My business is that of my own. Is she alone?'

'Of course she's alone. Or at least, that's how she's been until now. You may see her now, boy. She usually takes long walks into our village. Heals men, helps women… plays with children… a true living creature, she is! You'll find her to her place. But beware, boy. That there is a _Temple of Truth_. If you came here with lies…'

'Thanks, old man!'

He went off to his way, as the old man shrugged his shoulders to a gesture of don't-say-I-didn't-tell-you-so.

He crossed the small forest with absolutely nothing to fear. The forest seemed a nice one, with green tall trees, and a nice smell of freshly bloomed flowers. When he finally made it to a clear land, there was an imposing structure in front of him. The gates of the temple were not open. They had a small long roof above them, on which laid weird markings, just like the ones Rie had on her mask, at the beginning of the tournament.

Behind the great gate, there lied the Temple of Truth, just like the old man had said. It was an impressive building, so simple and yet, it was because of its simplicity that the old house seemed to send the constant feeling of purity and strength. Or was it simply because The Guardian was living there…? It was a simple house. It was simply built. No other wings, except its own stature.

He opened the massive gates and entered the garden of the temple. He finally came to its large stairs of stone. He climbed them fearless and entered inside. The high door creaked, as he opened it slowly.

He realized he had reached a largely empty chamber, with only a small altar in front of him. The altar held a black-velvet scarf on the massive stone block. Something seemed to be missing from above that scarf. Suddenly, he also saw somebody crouched at the altars bases. It was somebody dressed in a long black monk's cloak. The figure got up on its feet, when it heard his steps inside the temple. It turned… and startled…

'H-Hiei… '

Rie was truly stunned by his presence there. Hiei seemed to have his same cold face. But the truth was that he also had to do much effort to hide his surprise as well. Rie grew up in these two years. She wasn't that skinny, little girl who he knew before, from the tournament. She was now a truly beautiful woman, with her long black hair held in tiny sparkling jewels, as rebel locks fell upon her red-rabbit eyes. Her had wore something of a black powder at her eyes, which intensified her deep look.

She no longer carried scars around her body. Her dress was black, of satin, and quite short, but enough to reveal her strong and feminine legs. There was something strange about her though. He had carried, at her wrists and at her ankles what seemed like chains… Hiei remarked that right away. He sniffed and raised one eye-brow, but tried to remain calm and distant.

'I've brought you something. It was rightfully yours, after all.'

He came to her and suddenly, got out a long package from his back. He gave it to her. She unwrapped it and suddenly startle with surprise:

'T-the… the… The Sword Which Opens The Gates Of Heaven And Hell…'

Her eyes trembled and looked at him:

'You managed to save your friend after all!'

He also startled surprised:

'How did you…?'

'Some of you have a neck for talking in their sleep' she smiled shortly. 'Thank you, Hiei… I knew I could trust you…'

She turned and put the sword on the black velvet scarf, upon the altar:

'Now, it's where it had always belonged.'

Hiei backed up:

'Well, I'm off! I've got a long way back.'

'Wait!'

He stopped. He only turned his look towards her. Rie came to him running:

'Won't you stay a little longer? Perhaps, even for the night? It's been some time since I've seen you. Please?'

He closed his eyes and sniffed:

'Alright… if you wish it…'

'Thank you, Hiei.'

She kissed him gently on his cheek. Her gesture surprised him. But it wasn't because it had been a long time since she had done this. It seemed to him to be much more secure than the ones before. Her kiss was much more relaxing, without inhibits or any other shy feelings to bear. She was no longer a child now. She was a woman…

He watched her, as her slow but precise steps went out of the temple. He followed her and soon found himself in the forest, in a small intiKuwabara place.

She sat down on a rock which seemed to be built as a Kuramach.

'So…' he started, rather bored. 'This is your village of birth, I suppose…'

'Yes, yes it is… it's a small and insignificant one for you. But of a great value to me… Hiei, what ever happened that day? When I left…?'

'What could possibly happen? You've got disqualified, we won the sword and the tournament, took it to our friend, to heal him and afterwards went on with our lives. Yusuke and Kuwabara went back to their human world and Kurama remained with our friend to help him recover fully.'

'And… you?'

'I looked for you to give you back the sword. It's no good to us. It's a foully. But since it seemed to be a great deal to you, Kurama decided you should have it back. And here I am.'

He turned his back against her:

'Don't worry: by tomorrow, I'll be leaving this place.'

He suddenly, moved towards her with a rascal smile, meant to jeer her:

'I must admit, you no longer seem that crying baby you were back, in those times…'

She closed her eyes, as she sniffed in a charming smile.

'A few years passed… I grew up…'

She was swinging her legs, put one on the other. Rie turned her look towards the forest, as she sat lying on the Kuramach:

'I grew up and I hadn't used the spell ever since…'

Hiei looked at her chains:

'What are those for? A punishment?' he sort of giggled, amused.

'Hm, you could say that. It was the duty of a Guardian to punish oneself, if the sword is no longer in your grasp. But now, that you've came with it, I guess I could take them off. But not now. I've only just got used to them.'

She got up and looked at him:

'Will you be spending the night here or in town?'

'Here, where else? You see me sleeping in a maggot's place like that?' he sniffed.

She got up, slowly. Her patience defined her lack of weakness which she possessed.

Seeing her, Hiei felt sort of overwhelmed. He wanted so much to ask her something back then, when she left. And now that he finally had the chance, it seemed rather hard to do that. Still, he took his chance:

'Why did you run away? Why didn't you fight us?'

She stopped. She let her head down for a few seconds. But she raised it soon.

'Because I cared about you. I cared about Yusuke… I cared about Kurama and I cared about Kuwabara… too much to even think of fighting them. And because not only I cared about them… but because I loved you…'

She suddenly jerked towards him:

'I still do, Hiei… I still do… my feelings haven't changed since then.'

There was silence for a while. Afterwards, she added, much calmer:

'I'll get your room prepared. It gets cold at night.'

'Rie…'

She stopped again. Swiftly, she turned with a frowned look on her face:

'What is that, Hiei? You called my name? A moment of weakness?...'

She came to him, smiling victoriously:

'Ha! I have prevailed. For the first time, I have made Hiei be the one to have his weakness coming out even for just a few seconds! I truly am strong, if I had managed to…'

She creamed suddenly. Hiei jerked her hand swiftly and looked at her frowningly. It made her spine shiver with fright for that look.

'I am not weak…' he muttered, growling. 'I … I …'

He couldn't say it. He opened his mouth, but couldn't say it. In the end, she put her fingers on his lips, smiling bitterly:

'Don't worry, Hiei… it's worthless, I know that… you're a man of deeds, not words. Let's spare ourselves of idealistic conversations.'

She said that in a low tone of voice, which made him startled, as he remembered that he was the one to have used those exact words, two years ago.

She slowly pulled her hand out of the firm grip. She just wanted t turn away from him and continue her road back to the temple. Suddenly, he grabbed her again, this time with a much more intense grip and kissed her lips once more, after such a long time. He held her with both hands now, which meant that he knew with who he was about to deal with from now on: no longer a teenage girl. But a real warrior woman…

His gesture, as always, surprised her and turned her into the innocent girl she had been before. It was the only thing that hadn't changed inside her: her innocence, perhaps. But definitely, not a changing of feelings towards him.

This time, he held her tighter, so she would not struggle or fall or run away from him.

When he lastly parted from her, he looked somewhere else and muttered seriously, as if he finally realized he had made a mistake:

'I suppose I should spend the night here. Tomorrow, I won't be that tired.'

'Yes, you won't… I'll make sure of that…'

He suddenly watched her with confusing eyes. She smiled, and instantly started to giggle:

'Don't look at me like that! You're being funny. Confusion doesn't suit your face, Hiei! Come, let's go back… I should very much like to show you my village to its best ways.'

She held her hand towards him. He looked at it confused. In the end, he also stretched his own. She grabbed his palm and pulled him towards her. Afterwards, she dragged him delicately down the hill, towards her village.

Hearing her talk, in vain apparently, Hiei only looked at their combined hands. His fingers weren't embracing hers. But her palm seemed to be very confident towards his. It was as if she wasn't afraid to show her true feelings about him towards anyone.

As a final point, Hiei breathed deeply, as his fingers finally touched hers and held her palm, in both a friendly and intimate gesture.

H:23.12 4 february 2007

- 105 -


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